Brexit guru Shanker Singham has warned that Britain’s economic stagnation should not be blamed on the historic decision to break free from the European Union. The international trade expert has blasted politicians who put the blame on Brexit instead of decades of poor decision-making.
He argues the UK has the chance to boost GDP per capita by nearly 8% if it diverges from the EU rule book and embraces “pro-competitive regulations”. But he warns that closer alignment with the EU result could see GDP per capita fall by almost 4%.
Mr Singham, the chairman of the Growth Commission – whose international advisory board includes former UK prime minister Liz Truss and ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott – said: “Politicians blaming Brexit for the UK’s economic woes ahead of the Budget need to take a long hard look in the mirror. There are long-standing reasons for the economic stagnation from which the UK is suffering going back several decades, long before Brexit appeared on the agenda.
“Sticking to costly energy policies, failing to address burgeoning welfare bills that have resulted in a bloated state and the failure so far to address planning reform with any seriousness are just some of the far more pertinent reasons for the flat-lining economy than the decision to leave the EU.”
Mr Singham, who was considered a key intellectual influence on pro-Brexit MPs, acknowledges that leaving the EU has resulted in “some additional trade friction between the UK and the EU post-Brexit” but he argues the “cost of that can be eradicated numerous times over by taking advantage of the freedom to make the UK’s regulatory system more pro-competitive than the EU’s and enjoying the economic dividends that will flow as a result”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed last month the “UK’s productivity challenge has been compounded by the way in which the UK left the European Union”.
Sir Keir Starmer and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have worked closely (Image: Getty)
Mr Singham turned his guns on the Britain’s “political class” for a lack of imagination when it came to came to reforming regulations.
“Ministers across government should urgently be reviewing the UK’s regulatory framework and identifying the distortions which can be removed from the statute book to make Britain’s economy far more dynamic and a better place to do business,” he said. “If the Prime Minister is serious about growth being his Government’s ‘number one priority’, then diverging from burdensome EU rules and regulations and embracing pro-competitive regulation offers a toll-free route to boosting UK plc.
“The Government ought to hunker down and get on with this as a matter of urgency.”
