Brexit Hard Brexit would cost public finances £80bn, says secret analysis Leave-voting heartlands of north-east and West Midlands would be worst hit, report finds A Nissan worker in Sunderland, north-east England. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesA no-deal Brexit would blow an £80bn hole in the public finances, with the leave-voting heartlands of north-east England and West Midlands worst affected, according to new detail from the government’s own secret economic analysis. The report suggests that the north-east would face a 16% hit to regional economic growth, and the West Midlands 13%. And it claims that a hard Brexit would mean an overall 21% rise in retail prices, with a 17% rise in food and drink costs. The analyses found Brexit would leave the UK worse off under three possible scenarios: a comprehensive free trade deal, single market access and no deal at all.

Source: The Guardian February 07, 2018 18:13 UTC