No-Deal Brexit Lands a Bigger Blow to UK Economy than Covid-19

LONDON, KOMPAS.com – A new study warned that a “no-deal” Brexit harbors a far more negative impact on the UK economy than the Covid-19 crisis.

The study from the think-tank UK in a Changing Europe estimates that a “no-deal” Brexit could be three times more costly to the British economy than the pandemic.

The think-tank further stipulated that the political and economic effects of the pandemic were likely to mitigate or hide that of failing to secure a trade agreement with the EU.

A lack of a new formal trading relationship with Brussels spells out bad news for the UK’s economic recovery in the short term and larger than the health crisis in the long term. 

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The think-tank, which collaborated with the London School of Economics, said Brexit would hit growth in the coming years more than if the UK had opted to remain in the bloc.

"The claim that the economic impacts of Covid-19 dwarf those of Brexit is almost certainly correct in the short term," its authors wrote.

"Not even the most pessimistic scenarios suggest that a no-deal Brexit would lead to a fall in output comparable to that seen in the second quarter of 2020.

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"However — assuming a reasonably strong recovery, and that government policies succeed in avoiding persistent mass unemployment — in the long run, Brexit is likely to be more significant.

"Our modeling with LSE of the impact of a no-deal Brexit suggests that the total cost to the UK economy over the longer term will be two to three times as large as that implied by the Bank of England's forecast for the impact of Covid-19."

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The study estimated that the negative impact on gross domestic product would be 5.7 percent over the next 15 years compared with the current level, while GDP was forecast to take a 2.1-percent hit from Covid-19.

The projections come despite a lack of clarity about the overall repercussions from the pandemic, and as a second wave of infections hits Europe.

Effects to show up at borders