Therese Raphael, Columnist

There’s No Brexit Dividend. Nobody Cares.

Evidence of economic pain is piling up, and Leavers are doubling down.

June 28, 2018 at 4:01 AM UTC

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

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Photographer: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

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Each side of the U.K.'s 2016 Brexit debate peddled an economic narrative. Remainers warned of big economic costs from leaving the European Union. Leavers promised Brexit dividends: budget savings to be spent on the National Health Service, freedom from red tape, "frictionless" EU trade and a host of new trade deals that would be a boon to exporters.

These days, it's becoming clear which side was selling snake oil. And yet, those who sold the Brexit-dividend narrative are doubling down on that bet. Those who assumed that economic reality would force Brexiters to retreat from their demands of a harsh break with the EU have been mistaken.