Six years on from the vote to leave the European Union (EU), the UK economy is trailing far behind our European rivals. Per capita income has fallen by 4% in real terms since the second quarter of 2016, when the vote took place, compared with 15% growth in the EU, according to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The difference has become most pronounced since the UK formally left the EU in January 2020, a period which also coincided with the emergence of Covid-19. While both the EU and UK were hit hard by the pandemic, the EU’s recovery has been more robust. As of the last quarter of 2021, the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head was 8% lower than before the pandemic. The EU’s per contrast has grown by 8%. Last week, a report by the Resolution Foundation Think Tank also found that Brexit had damaged the UK’s competitiveness, reducing productivity growth and eroding real wage growth. Kenneth Gibson MSP commented: “Every day, the damage done by Brexit to the livelihoods of Scots becomes more and more apparent. “It is a folly Scotland didn’t vote for and, recent OECD statistics as well as the Resolution Foundation report clearly show that it is making us poorer. “For years the UK has been in economic decline, in sharp contrast to our European neighbours and Brexit is making it worse. While the disaster of leaving the EU was driven by the Tories, it is now supported by both Labour and the LibDems. “The only way to fix it – and for Scotland to become wealthier, happier and fairer - is for us to re-join the EU as a normal independent country.” The Resolution Foundation report can be found here. ENDS
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