Brexit’s Lasting Damage Is Looking Inescapable
By almost every economic and financial measure, parting ways with the EU almost eight years ago has been disastrous for the UK. Is there no end in sight?
The UK and EU are better together than apart.
Photographer: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
Leaving the European Union was unlike any event in modern British history. Institutional investors couldn't imagine a majority of Britons voting against their own interest. When they did, the shock was immediate. The pound plummeted a record 8.05% in minutes to a 31-year-low against the dollar. The toll of the June 23, 2016, referendum was more than double any of the eight worst days since 1981, and the almost 13% depreciation in less than a week remains unequaled as a UK foreign-exchange debacle.
Sterling's sudden collapse and failure to recover proved to be the signal that Britain's best days are fleeting. For most of this century, the UK was the biggest beneficiary among the 27 countries in the EU. Measured by gross domestic product, GDP per capita growth, unemployment and superior debt, equity and currency valuations, Britain was the perennial leader. All of these superlatives ended with “Brexit” almost eight years ago. The EU since then outperforms the UK, whose listless economy is now little more than an also-ran.