The prospect of a ‘reset’ of the UK’s relations with the EU has excited some and alarmed others. This muddle of emotions has not been helped by a barrage of misinformation from supporters of much closer ties with the rest of Europe. So, how worried should we be? To be fair, the opening of negotiations … Continue reading EU’s legal battles with Britain show Starmer’s ‘reset’ is a fool’s errand
Category: Brexit
Project Rejoin’s ‘zombie statistics’ are doing no-one any favours
I often come across ‘zombie statistics’ for my collection of ‘bad Brexit takes’. Here’s a classic example for those not familiar with the genre. This week the Guardian published an article by Polly Toynbee which included the claim that “the Office for National Statistics says Brexit cost the UK £1m an hour in 2022”. This … Continue reading Project Rejoin’s ‘zombie statistics’ are doing no-one any favours
A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
The usual suspects were quick to seize on Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections as ‘yet another reason’ for the UK to rejoin the EU. Of course, some people need no excuse. If Kamala Harris had won, they would have insisted that a rejuvenated Democrat-led administration offered a great opportunity to reset US-EU … Continue reading A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
A presentation on Brexit
Here are the slides (with a few tweaks and additions) from a presentation I made recently to an audience of economists in London. The presentation covers some strengths and weaknesses of the OBR's Brexit analysis and of 'doppelganger' models, and attempts to correct some common misunderstandings. It also includes some of my favourite charts! Brexit … Continue reading A presentation on Brexit
Plain-speaking Economics 