The Center for European Reform (CEF) said that by the end of last year, Britain’s economy was 5.2 per cent – or 31 31 billion – smaller than it would have been without Brexit and the Covid pandemic. “We can not blame Brexit for the entire deficit of 5.2% of GDP. “But Brexit is clearly to blame,” said John Springford, co-author of the CEF study. CER modeled the performance of a UK doppelganger – if the nation had remained within the EU single market – using data from other advanced economies similar to the UK. Mr Springford said the “unblocking” of the financial effects of Brexit and Covid in recent years had been “difficult” – but said it was clear that the biggest negative impact had come from Brexit. The economist claims that a huge gap between the current United Kingdom and the economy of the “doppelganger” had opened before the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020. Mr Springford said the sluggish financial performance after the end of the lockdown in 2021 also showed that the “significant” deficit was “mainly Brexit and not Covid”. “The UK ended restrictions on Covid earlier than many of its counterparts, in part thanks to the launch of the vaccination campaign in early 2021,” he said. “That should have made Covid recover faster than other countries, not later.” The CER study said it was “difficult to avoid the conclusion that Brexit has severely curtailed GDP, investment and trade in goods”. The report added: “British politicians may find it difficult to ignore the central role of Brexit in the UK’s economic problems for much longer.” It comes as British companies point out the post-Brexit bureaucracy, which continues to create costly delays in trade with the EU. A seafood company in Northumberland spoke of the “ridiculous” papers that nearly ruined a 50 50,000 delivery, as a 43-page form did not contain a printed name. The Coquet Island Shellfish Company told the BBC that the issue cost the company up to 15 15,000 to settle after several delays. “There have been no obvious benefits from Brexit. “Everything takes longer and costs more,” said Jane Pedersen, sales manager. An influential parliamentary committee recently warned that it was uncertain whether the post-Brexit free trade agreements negotiated by the Boris Johnson government would provide “real economic benefits”. Meanwhile, No. 10 confirmed on Friday that controversial new Brexit legislation – designed to take unilateral action to end controls agreed with the EU as part of the exit agreement – will be released to the public on Monday. The conservative Ken Clark, the “overwhelming majority” of his peers, will support efforts to block the bill and “hold it for a long time”.