‘£40 a week’ boost for every family

HOUSEHOLDS could be £40 a week better off after Brexit if Britain embraces free trade outside the European Union, a group of economists has said.

The 16-strong Economists for Free Trade, led by Cardiff University economics Professor Patrick Minford, claimed abolishing barriers such as tariffs could boost the economy by £135billion a year, giving households a £5,000-a-year boost.

In order to achieve the windfall, which includes an 8 per cent fall in prices for household goods thanks to increased competition, Professor Minford said the country should embrace a clean break from the EU, leaving both the single market and customs union.

He said: ‘Hard Brexit is good for the UK economically while soft Brexit leaves us as badly off as before. Hard is economically much superior to soft.

‘Backers of soft Brexit say it would preserve jobs, but what they really mean is that it would preserve existing jobs by stopping competition from home and abroad ... This aborting of competition reduces jobs in the long run.’

Professor Minford was Margaret Thatcher’s economic adviser and supported Leave during the referendum campaign.