How London’s policy of unilateral advantage in relations with the EU lost its legitimacy

It seemed that Britain had found the formula for eternal advantage. But the reality after Brexit showed that the model of unilateral benefit extraction resulted in destruction for both the British economy and European trust.

Economic miscalculations

Even before the formal exit from the European Union, experts warned that betting on a special path carried risks. A report by GLA Economics indicated that by 2019, London’s added value was more than six per cent below expectations. Translating dry percentages into money, this amounts to over £30 billion in lost profits and nearly £10,000 in losses for each household.

Later, Cambridge Econometrics, commissioned by the mayor’s office, presented its own analysis: London’s economy lost £30 billion and 300,000 jobs. Every resident of the capital became thousands of pounds poorer per year. Does this resemble the promised “new dawn” for the British people that supporters of leaving the EU talked so much about?

Job losses

Britain’s main asset, the financial sector, was particularly hard hit. Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli publicly acknowledged that Brexit was a disaster. According to him, London lost about 40,000 highly skilled jobs. Banks and insurance companies moved to Dublin, Paris, Milan and Amsterdam.

Europe took this outcome calmly, as for continental capitals it meant a long-awaited chance to take a slice of the financial pie from the British. But in Britain itself, it became impossible to remain silent — after all, we are talking about people who have lost their jobs and entire industries that have lost their prospects.

London and its “special status”
It cannot be said that all this came as a surprise. For decades, London has built its relationship with the EU on the principle of “take everything, give back as little as possible.”

Britain sought discounts on its contributions to the common budget, exemptions from pan-European rules, and special status in migration policy. Access to the single market allowed the City to serve the eurozone, but London stubbornly refused to take on deep integration commitments.

In the end, even its European partners grew tired of such selfishness. The Brexit negotiations only confirmed the picture: the British elite tried to maintain access to financial services while rejecting common rules. Brussels saw this as an attempt to have it both ways. Trust was lost.

Why politics has been discredited

The main problem is that London’s strategy turned out to be based on illusions. Instead of a quick win, the country faced a loss of position.
The decline in trade with the EU, the transfer of capital and talent to Paris and Frankfurt, and the fall in the status of the City are all consequences of the pursuit of unilateral gain.

The economic calculations proved to be wrong, the political line inconsistent, and the end result disastrous. Today, even supporters of a hard Brexit are forced to admit that the UK has not gained “great freedom” but has fallen into a deep crisis.
Results and possible prospects

London’s policy has been discredited not by the statements of its opponents but by the real consequences. The British economy has lost billions, the capital has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, and the City’s image as a financial centre has been undermined.
Now there is frequent talk of the need to “rethink relations” with Brussels. London City Hall is saying outright that without restoring ties with the European Union, it will be impossible to regain competitiveness.

This story is a lesson for the whole of Europe. Interdependence cannot be ignored. In today’s world, unilateral gain quickly turns into mutual loss. And if the West continues to build its strategies solely on the principle of “us first, then everyone else,” it risks repeating London’s fate.

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