What Has Brexit Delivered? Ten Years On

By Matt, Editor

Brexit benefits are easiest to see in the powers Britain got back: its own trade deals, its own borders, its own laws and its own money. Ten years after the 2016 referendum, the record is mixed. Some freedoms have been used well, some have been wasted and some are now being handed back. This explainer sets out what Brexit has delivered as of October 2026, what it has not, and what Labour’s EU reset puts at risk.

What are the main Brexit benefits so far?

Leaving the EU gave Parliament back four big powers it had pooled in Brussels: trade policy, border control, lawmaking and the budget. Each can be judged on what has actually been done with it.

Power returned	What has been done with it	Status as of October 2026
Trade policy	Deals with Australia, New Zealand and India; CPTPP membership; a Gulf deal agreed	In use
Borders	Free movement ended; points-based system from January 2021	In use, but net migration hit 944,000 at its peak
Laws	Subsidy Control Act, Procurement Act, Retained EU Law Act, Precision Breeding Act	Partly used
Money	Annual EU membership fees ended	In use; the 2020 settlement is still being paid
Fishing	25% of EU quota in UK waters transferred by 2026	EU access extended to 2038

What trade deals has Britain signed since Brexit?

As an EU member Britain could not sign its own trade deals. Since leaving it has done so on its own terms. Free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand came into force in May 2023. Britain joined the CPTPP, the trans-Pacific trade bloc, on 15 December 2024, the first European country to join. The government says membership will add £2 billion a year to the economy in the long run.

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The biggest prize so far is India. The UK–India deal came into force on 15 July 2026. The government estimates it will add £4.8 billion a year to GDP in the long run, and India’s tariff on Scotch whisky has been cut from 150% to 75%, falling to 40% over ten years. In May 2026 Britain also agreed a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the first G7 country to do so, which the government values at £3.7 billion a year once it comes into force.

Did Brexit take back control of borders?

Legally, yes. EU free movement ended on 31 December 2020 and every new arrival from Europe now needs a visa like anyone else. Politically, the power was abused. Under the Conservatives, net migration rose to a record 944,000 in the year to March 2023, according to the ONS, driven by work and student visas that Parliament was now fully in charge of. It has since fallen to a provisional 171,000 in 2025, as our net migration explainer sets out. Brexit made control possible. It did not make it automatic.

What laws has Britain changed since leaving?

Parliament has started to replace EU rules with its own. The Subsidy Control Act 2022 replaced EU state aid rules. The Procurement Act 2023 replaced EU tendering rules. The Precision Breeding Act 2023 allows gene-edited crops that EU rules restricted. The tampon tax was abolished in January 2021, which EU VAT law had blocked. In December 2020 the UK medicines regulator became the first in the world to approve the Pfizer Covid vaccine. Brexit supporters cite this as a benefit, although the emergency power it used also existed under EU rules.

The Retained EU Law Act 2023 was meant to sweep away thousands of EU rules. In the end it scrapped only about 600 by name, and most EU-derived law remains on the books. Critics say that is why Britain never truly left the EU.

What about the money?

In 2019, its last full year as a member, the UK made a net contribution of £9.4 billion to the EU budget, according to the Treasury. Those annual fees have ended, although Britain is still paying the financial settlement agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Office for Budget Responsibility still assumes Brexit will leave productivity 4% lower in the long run than if Britain had stayed. That is a modelling assumption made in 2016, not a measured result, and critics argue it ignores the new trade deals.

Where has Brexit fallen short?

Fishing is the clearest failure. The 2020 trade deal transferred only 25% of the EU’s catch in UK waters to British boats by 2026. In May 2025, Labour’s reset gave EU fleets full access to UK waters until 30 June 2038, and the industry says it is under mounting pressure.

The reset goes further. Under the common understanding agreed in May 2025, Britain would follow EU food and farming rules in a veterinary (SPS) deal, with the European Court of Justice having the final say on EU law. As of October 2026 that deal has not been signed. Critics say Andy Burnham is pushing a deal that hands EU judges power over Britain, and he has said he would like Britain to rejoin the EU in his lifetime. Our explainer on whether the UK can rejoin the EU sets out what that would involve.

What do supporters and critics say?

Supporters of Brexit

• Britain can now sign its own trade deals and has done so with India, the Pacific and the Gulf.
• Voters can remove the people who set immigration policy, which was not possible with free movement.
• Parliament, not Brussels, makes the law, and new freedoms like gene editing are already in use.

Critics of Brexit

• The OBR assumes trade intensity will be 15% lower in the long run than if Britain had stayed in.
• Exporters to the EU face extra paperwork and border checks.
• Many of the new trade deals are small compared with trade with the EU.

What happens next?

Negotiators have reportedly concluded the SPS talks ahead of a UK–EU summit due in Brussels on 20 November 2026, and the government says it intends the agreement to take effect in mid-2027. Reform UK opposes the reset and wants remaining EU law scrapped; our Reform UK policies explainer sets out the party’s wider programme. Whether Brexit’s benefits grow or are given away depends on who governs next.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the main Brexit benefits?

The return of trade policy, border control, lawmaking and the budget to Parliament, used so far for new trade deals, a points-based immigration system and laws such as the Precision Breeding Act.

How much did Britain pay the EU?

The UK’s net contribution to the EU budget was £9.4 billion in 2019, according to the Treasury.

Which trade deals has Britain signed since Brexit?

Deals with Australia, New Zealand and India, plus CPTPP membership. A deal with the Gulf states was agreed in May 2026 but is not yet in force.

Did Brexit lower immigration?

Not at first. Net migration peaked at 944,000 in the year to March 2023. It fell to a provisional 171,000 in 2025.

What happened to fishing?

Only 25% of the EU’s quota in UK waters was transferred by 2026, and the 2025 reset extended EU access to 2038.

Is Labour taking Britain back into the EU?

Not formally. But the planned SPS deal would mean following EU food rules, and Andy Burnham has said he would like Britain to rejoin in his lifetime.

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Sources

• HM Treasury – European Union Finances Statement 2019
• Department for Business and Trade – UK joins CPTPP
• Department for Business and Trade – UK–India trade deal enters into force
• Department for Business and Trade – UK and Gulf trade deal
• GOV.UK – UK–EU summit common understanding
• Office for Budget Responsibility – Brexit analysis
• Business.gov.uk – The UK-India trade deal
• Defra – SPS agreement: preparing your business
• FloraCulture International – EU and UK conclude SPS negotiations (12 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk – Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023