Brexit is costing the UK £100bn each year, according to Bloomberg Economics, as companies struggle to fill vacancies and attract fresh investment after Britain cut itself off from Europe.
Tuesday marks the three-year anniversary since the UK officially left the European Union, in which time UK-based investment has grown 19% less than the G7 average and the economy has forfeited 4% worth of growth, the analysis showed.
Suggestions have even been made that investment would be around 25% higher had the UK not left the European Union, including from thinktank UK In A Changing Europe.
Trade as a share of gross domestic product is also lower in the UK than G7 countries.
The bleak figures come as the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecasts for the UK economy, predicting it would be the only major country to contract this year, by 0.6%.
Superdry PLC (LSE:SDRY), Next PLC (LSE:NXT) and Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) chiefs have been among business heads pressuring the government to review its post-Brexit policies recently.
Superdy’s Julian Dunkerton suggested the only way inflation could be stemmed in Britain was through a new free trade deal with the union.
Next’s Simon Wolfson argued the government needed to allow more foreign workers in to the UK, meanwhile, to fill some 1.16mln job vacancies, as per Office for National Statistics data.
According to Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates, the UK is facing “specific problems,” including an over-exposure to high energy prices, a “significant” labour shortage and higher mortgage rates.
Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill made a similar claim in early January, suggesting the UK was in a “distinctive” position compared to other major economies.
War in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and the misfired mini-budget have indeed also had an effect, interactive investor analyst Victoria Scholar pointed out, while the FTSE100 has actually grown 7% since Brexit day.