EU regulation costs 'will double to £240 billion annually AFTER Brexit'
GETTY EU regulation costs 'will double to £240 billion annually after Brexit'
Failing to scrap EU regulation following the UK’s exit from the EU could cost the economy £240 billion annually, experts have warned. Excessive regulation currently costs the UK £120 billion each year but forecasts by the Economists for Free Trade have warned that this could double. The Economists for Free Trade estimates current regulations cost the UK six per cent of its GDP. The news comes after a Cabinet debate this week on whether the UK should align or converge from EU rules when the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.
Professor Patrick Minford says current rules “could just be the beginning” if Britain remains aligned and the EU becomes even more of a “federalist bloc.” He said: “If Britain seizes the freedom to move away from EU regulations, the current 6 per cent cost could be cut by a third - boosting GDP by 2 per cent and our growth rate in line.” This news comes after thousands of Leave voters signed a petition calling for the UK to exit the EU without a transition deal after the bloc demanded Britain is subject to Brussels laws for the two year period. Under proposals agreed by the other 27 member states, Britain will have no say in its decision-making bodies during the implementation period after Brexit in March 2019.
Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels Thu, December 14, 2017 Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels: The MPs who backed the amendment to the Brexit bill. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 12 Theresa May’s Tory Brexit rebels
But it would still have to follow all EU rules and regulations, including freedom of movement and face restrictions on signing off new trade deals. The terms provoked fury among Brexiteers, with some calling for the Government to reject the EU “ultimatum”. And the news saw support surge for an online petition demanding the UK makes a clean break in March 2019. Signatories soared past the 10,000 - the benchmark for an official Government response - and had reached 12,500 by Thursday.
GETTY Failure to scrap EU regulation after the UK’s exit from the EU could cost the economy £240 billion
The petition, launched by Leave voter Elizabeth Watson, states: “We must leave the EU completely in March 2019 - no transition period, no delay. “Theresa May is betraying the British people who voted to leave the EU by making the UK stay in until 2021 and paying billions of pounds to the EU while we stay. “No immigration control, no border control, no sovereignty - an absolute betrayal of the 17 million voters who chose to leave.” If the petition hits 100,000 supporters, MPs will be forced to debate it in Parliament.
GETTY Excessive regulation currently costs the UK £120 billion each year