Executive summary
Capital Economics has been commissioned by Woodford Investment Management to examine the United Kingdom’s relationship with Europe and the impact of ‘Brexit’ on the British economy. A referendum is due to be held before the end of 2017 but it looks increasingly likely that it will occur before the end of 2016. The latest opinion polls suggest an extremely tight vote but this could easily change due to, for example, another escalation in the Greek crisis, further rises in net migration from Europe or an escalation of the refugee crisis. In addition, the nature and extent of any renegotiation of the terms of British membership could also be important in determining the referendum outcome.
Our report covers the economic impacts of the most important elements of the Brexit debate.