Rejoining EU could boost UK economy by £150bn – Goldman Sachs

Analysts from the bank reckon a 'Breturn' would boost the UK economy by 2-5% by the start of the next decade.

In a note to clients, the Wall Street bank voiced its support for Andy Burnham’s calls for closer ties with the EU, saying there was a “significant economic upside from ‘Breturn.'”

According to analysts, rejoining the single market could grow the UK economy by 2-5%, equivalent to a boost of £61bn to £152bn by the start of the next decade, the Telegraph reports.

In recent weeks, there has been growing momentum behind the UK forging closer ties with the EU and even potentially reversing Brexit.

This came after Burnham said he would explore all options for establishing the UK’s long-term relationship with Europe, calling out the damage Brexit has done to the country over the last 10 years.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, the prime minister called for “deeper cooperation” with the EU to help drive economic growth in the UK, and said it was an “immediate priority” for him to secure a successful outcome at the EU-UK summit next month.

Goldman Sachs’ analysis will no doubt bolster Burnham’s stance, but the bank’s economists did acknowledge any Brexit reversal would be a political decision that would “require negotiation, political trade-offs and time before benefits materialise”.

However, they added that the “economic upside from closer UK-EU relations could be large, supporting our constructive view on the UK’s longer-run growth prospects.”

The bank claimed Brexit had delivered a 6% hit to the British economy. Multiple other studies have come to similar conclusions over the devastating economic impact of Brexit.

Last month, during his Labour conference speech, Burnham said Brexit had caused “more harm than good” and he would look for a new consensus on what Britain’s relationship with the EU should be.

This was followed by the prime minister confirming that potentially rejoining the EU is an option he and his government will consider.

Away from Westminster, public opinion has completely shifted on Brexit as the irrefutable evidence of the harm it has caused to the country mounts up.

Along with all this, European governments are urging the UK to return to the bloc as the global picture grows increasingly unstable in a world with Donald Trump as US president.