Brexit Caused Higher Energy Prices for Britain

Here’s an interesting bit of blowback – a study claims consumers paid an average of £75 more for energy the year after Brexit.

The University College London researchers blamed a weakened pound for the overall energy hike of £2 billion in 2017. At the end of 2016, the British pound equaled $1.23, while 2017 saw it drop to $1.35.

According to UCL, average wholesale prices rose by 18% for electricity and 16% for gas, which translated to a yearly hike of £35 for electricity and £40 for gas. Oh, and the study predicts a further £61 boost per year in the event of a hard Brexit.

Ironically, many pro-Brexit arguments circa 2016 predicted strong economic growth – leading economists forecast 2% growth by 2020 if Britain left the EU and 4% after a decade.

Then again, a big part of the Brexit debate had nothing to do with economics – a survey by YouGov mentioned everything from immigration to sovereignty, the pro-Brexit crowd’s fearmongering, and out-of-touch elites.

And exchange rates can fluctuate wildly in a week or month, let alone a whole year. They could still settle in favor of the pound sterling should Britain choose a hard Brexit.

Read more here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2018/dec/brexit-leading-higher-energy-prices