{"id":694679,"date":"2026-07-16T11:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694679\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T11:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:12:17","slug":"northern-ireland-would-enjoy-150m-plus-economic-lift-annually-from-uk-rejoining-the-eu-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694679\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland would enjoy \u00a3150m-plus economic lift annually from UK rejoining the EU \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Ireland\u2019s economy would enjoy a lift of more than \u00a3150m a year if the UK as a whole were to rejoin the EU, according to new research.<\/p>\n

A decade after the Brexit vote<\/a>, a new study commissioned by pro-European group Best for Britain models the key benefits of greater integration with the EU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Carried out by Frontier Economics, it finds the north\u2019s economy would be boosted by at least \u00a3158m each year \u2013 the equivalent to a GVA (general value added) increase of at least 0.43% – by the UK\u2019s re-entry into the trading bloc.<\/p>\n

As well as assessing the implications for the UK\u2019s regional economies, the study also looks at the potential impact of tariffs being imposed by US President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>\"Northern<\/a><\/p>\n

The research examines each of the scenarios, including exposure to a specific change in trade costs resulting from tariffs<\/a> and\/or regulatory alignment, reflecting the mix of economic activities that take place in Northern Ireland. <\/p>\n

It finds reinstated EU membership and the resulting economic upswing could recoup at least two-thirds and up to 90% of the economic loss inflicted by Brexit.<\/p>\n

It says the economic case for EU membership is clear, characterising the 0.43% GVA boost as \u201ca conservative estimate of the benefits of full EU membership\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis scenario far outpaces the estimated gains on offer from a food and drink deal alone (0.02%) or stand alone customs union (0.10%),\u201d the research concludes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly full membership delivers deeper trade, stronger investment, and critically for businesses in Northern Ireland, a shield against the damaging impact of US tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best for Britain is are now urging prime minister-in waiting Andy Burnham to signal the UK\u2019s intent to renew EU membership in order to boost economic growth in Northern Ireland and Britain.<\/p>\n

It says the move would shield regional economies from Trump\u2019s \u201chostile and chaotic tariff policy\u201d and fund vital public services.<\/p>\n

SDLP leader Claire Hanna welcomed the research findings.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses and consumers across Northern Ireland have known for a long time what this report now shows in black and white,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no greater economic injection on offer than membership of the EU. Our businesses need it and our people deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best for Britain chief executive Naomi Smith said: \u201cAfter ten years of sky-high inflation, soaring bills and a cost of living crisis hammering families from Lurgan to Limavady, a new UK prime minister will soon have the chance to transform Northern Ireland\u2019s fortunes, put money back into people\u2019s pockets and help industry thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the public and the data are clear: as this research sets out, EU membership is the quickest and the most popular way to get Northern Ireland growing again.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland\u2019s economy would enjoy a lift of more than \u00a3150m a year if the UK as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[934,84,1294,4034,229,31039,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-694679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-brexit","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-eu","tag-politics","tag-sdlp","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}