New research has revealed Brexit could end up costing the UK economy £350m a week - the same amount Leave campaigners promised the country would get back after exiting the EU.
The in-depth study by the Financial Times examines a range of economic estimates and predictions, including the value of Britain’s output, which is now around 0.9 per cent lower than was possible if the country had voted Remain.
Economists say it equates to almost exactly £350m a week lost to the British economy - the same figure emblazoned on the Vote Leave battle bus during the referendum campaign, judged to be a key deciding factor for many voters.
Eloise Todd, CEO of anti-Brexit organisation Best for Britain, said foreign secretary and prominent Leave campaigner Boris Johnson had been proved “a total, complete and utter liar”.
She added: “I could have sworn Brexit politicians said it would save us £350 million a week, not cost us £350 million a week.
“Losing this money will mean that we are all worse off. This will lead to services being slashed across the board.
“Britain is also second to bottom of the growth chart of rich nations, Greece is now ahead of us. We are facing a Brexit economic disaster.”
Other Remain supporters expressed their dismay at the revelations, with Labour MP Chuka Umunna branding the results of the research ‘extraordinary’.
Back in September, Johnson repeated the infamous £350m claim in a 4,000-word column for the Daily Telegraph.
The foreign secretary set out his ‘vision for a bold, thriving Britain enabled by Brexit’, writing: “Once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly £350 million per week.”
But according to the FT, Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, told the FT Brexit had “very roughly” reduced UK growth by 1 per cent already.
Meanwhile, a study by the London School of Economics estimates the referendum vote directly increased inflation by 1.7 percentage points of the 2.7 percentage-point rise in the 12 months following it.
“The increase in inflation caused by the Leave vote has already hurt UK households,” economist Thomas Sampson told the paper.