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Brexit is harming the UK economy, say 44% of voters

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Brexit is harming the UK economy, say 44% of voters

Almost twice as many voters now believe Brexit is having a negative effect on the UK economy as think it is benefiting the nation’s finances, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer, carried out during budget week.

The survey comes after Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said his organisation calculated that the negative impact on GDP caused by the UK’s exit from the EU was expected to be twice as great as that resulting from the pandemic.

Hughes said Brexit would reduce the UK’s potential GDP by about 4% in the long term, while the pandemic would cut it “by a further 2%”. “In the long term, it is the case that Brexit has a bigger impact than the pandemic,” he said.

Opinium’s findings appear to be in line with other recent polling, including a survey last week by Ipsos MORI, which showed concern about the effects of Brexit rising to the point that it is now seen as the biggest issue for the country alongside Covid-19.

The Opinium survey found that 44% of people think Brexit is having a bad impact on the UK economy, compared with 25% who think it is having a positive effect.

More starkly, 53% of people believe Brexit is having a bad effect on prices in shops, against 13% who think it is having a good effect, while 51% think it is adversely affecting the UK’s ability to import goods from the EU, against 15% who think it is helping.

While chancellor Rishi Sunak’s approval rating rose slightly after his Budget speech on Wednesday, in which he increased government spending to its highest sustained level since the 1970s while warning that inflation would rise to 4% next year, the fact that people appear to be linking Brexit with economic problems including rising prices will be a worry to No 10 and No 11 Downing Street.

During the campaign for Brexit, led by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, voters were told by the Leave campaign that leaving the EU would create a more dynamic UK economy able to trade freely across the globe, and less bureaucracy, leading to lower prices.

The OBR report, published alongside Sunak’s budget, said that its evidence to date suggested its previous forecasts that Brexit would lead to a 15% fall in both UK imports from, and exports to, the EU appeared to have been broadly accurate.

The report said: “The evidence so far suggests that both import and export intensity have been reduced by Brexit, with developments still consistent with our initial assumption of a 15% reduction in each.”

It is also made clear that shortages of lorry drivers were at least partly caused by Brexit.

Last week the Financial Times reported that whereas by August this year global goods trade had rebounded sharply since the height of the pandemic (according to the CPB World Trade Monitor), the UK was proving a notable exception, with its exports still sharply down.

Since the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January this year, UK ministers have insisted that difficulties with trade to and from the EU would be short-lived and amounted merely to “teething problems” that would be resolved quickly once companies got used to the new arrangements.

While Opinium found evidence of clear anxiety about Brexit, this has yet to translate into a negative effect on support for the Tory party.

The Conservatives are on 40%, down 1 point compared with a fortnight ago, while Labour is down 2 points on 35%. The Lib Dems are on 8%, the Green party 7%, the SNP 5% and Plaid Cymru 1%.

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FG, states, LGs share N1.678trn for February – FAAC

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), has shared N1.678 trillion among the Federal Government, states and the Local Government Councils (LGCs) for the month of February.

This is according to a communiqué issued by FAAC and made available by Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).

According to the communiqué, the total revenue of N1.678 trillion comprised statutory revenue of N827.633 billion and Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N 609.430 billion.

It also comprised Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N35.171 billion, Solid Minerals revenue of N28.218 billion and Augmentation of N178 billion.

It said that a total gross revenue of N2.344 trillion was available in the month of February.

“Total deduction for cost of collection was N89.092 billion while total transfers, interventions, refunds and savings was N577.097 billion,’” it said.

The FAAC issued communiqué said that gross statutory revenue of N1.653 trillion was received for the month of February, which was lower than the sum of N1.848 trillion received in January by N194.664 billion.

It said that gross revenue of N654.456 billion was available from VAT in February, lower than the N771.886 billion available in January by N117.430 billion.

The communiqué said that from the total distributable revenue of N1.678 trillion, the Federal Government received total sum of N569.656 billion and the state governments received total sum of N562.195 billion.

It said that the LGCs received total sum of N410.559 billion, and a total sum of N136.042 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

“On the N827.633 billion statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N366.262 billion and the state governments received N185.773 billion.

“The LGCs received N143.223 billion and the sum of N132.374 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue,” the communiqué said.

It said that from the N609.430 billion VAT revenue, the Federal Government received N91.415 billion, the state governments received N304.715 billion and the LGCs received N213.301 billion.

“A total sum of N5.276 billion was received by the Federal Government from the N35.171 billion EMTL. The state governments received N17.585 billion and the LGCs received N12.310 billion.

“From the N28.218 billion Solid Minerals revenue, the Federal Government received N12.933 billion and the state governments received N6.560 billion.

“The LGCs received N5.057 billion and a total sum of N3.668 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue,’” it said.

It said that Oil and Gas Royalty and EMTL, increased significantly while VAT, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax, Excise Duty, Import Duty and CET Levies recorded decrease.

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NNPCL refutes explosion rumour at Port Harcourt refinery, confirms containment

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has debunked reports of an explosion at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) in Rivers State.

In a statement issued on March 19, 2025, Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, clarified that the event was a flare incident, which has been fully contained without posing any danger to staff, surrounding communities, or the environment.

“There is no danger or health hazard to staff, the surrounding communities, or the environment,” NNPC said in the statement

The company therefore urged the public and media to disregard false claims of an explosion at the refinery, emphasizing that operations remain unaffected.

The NNPC Ltd also reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and safety in its operations.

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Rising data costs will worsen Nigeria’s connectivity gap – CITAD warns

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has raised concerns over the increasing cost of internet data in Nigeria, warning that it further widens the country’s existing digital divide.

The centre argued that the increase in data will leave many underserved communities without access to essential online services.

Haruna Adamu Hadeija, the Coordinator of Community Network, CITAD, revealed this while speaking at a press briefing held at the CITAD office in Kano on Monday.

He emphasized the impact of rising data costs on marginalized communities.

According to Hadeija, the 50% tariff increase on data, calls, and SMS approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made it increasingly difficult for communities already struggling with poor connectivity to access the internet.

“Now that data charges have been jerked up by 50%, students and parents in underserved areas have to ‘dearly’ pay to enable their children to learn online,” Hadeija said.

“This cost hike not only widens the existing connectivity gap but also makes digital liberation nearly impossible for millions of Nigerians.”

Hadeija noted that while Nigeria has made strides in expanding internet access, an estimated 27.91 million people in 97 underserved communities still lack internet access, according to a 2022 report by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

He highlighted how this lack of connectivity continues to disenfranchise students, youth, and women, particularly those in rural areas.

“In regions where internet access is absent, parents must send their children far from home just to register for computer-based tests, conduct exams, and check their results. It is unfair that many communities are left behind because they cannot afford internet services,” he added.

The CITAD coordinator stressed the need for urgent policy interventions to address the widening digital divide.

He called on the Minister for Digital Economy to officially recognize community networks as an additional layer of connectivity providers in the country.

“We urge the USPF to support local communities with grants to deploy their own connectivity initiatives. These community networks are not competitors to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); they are complementary solutions to bridge the existing connectivity gap,” Hadeija appealed.

CITAD also proposed capacity-building initiatives to empower local communities in resource mobilization and sustainability to create self-sufficient, community-centered networks.

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