Cost of staying in EU for 4 years would dwarf £40bn divorce bill

THE Brexit divorce bill will be dwarfed by the cost of staying in the EU for just four more years, official figures reveal.

Theresa May faced a backlash from some MPs this week after agreeing a formula that could see the UK hand Brussels up to £40billion to settle ‘liabilities’ run up during our EU membership.

But the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that staying in the EU for just four years after March 2019 would cost the UK £55 billion. Figures published on Budget day reveal British payments to the EU would rise sharply over the next few years if it were to remain a member, with transfers set to rise by 25 per cent next year – from £9.9 billion to £12.5 billion. A further rise to £13.8 billion is pencilled in for the following year.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said the figures showed leaving the EU would be ‘a bargain’, even after the cost of a divorce bill. Mrs May is set to lodge a new offer – thought to be in the region of £40billion – with the EU on Monday in the hopes of moving onto trade talks.