A DECADE on from the UK's vote to leave the European Union, how has the seismic decision affected Wirral?
The 2016 referendum saw the peninsula vote narrowly to remain, with 51.6% backing continued EU membership.
Birkenhead stood out as the only constituency in Wirral to vote Leave, in line with hundreds of other deindustrialised working-class towns nationwide which had come to feel neglected and saw Brexit as a vote for change.
But the rest of Wirral - Wallasey, Wirral West, and Wirral South - voted to remain, reflecting stronger economic ties to European trade and the professional services sector.
The late Frank Field, who was Member of Parliament for Birkenhead for 40 years and the only Wirral MP to support Leave, described the outcome as "the first clear revolt against globalisation and its undermining of working-class living standards.”
Ten years later, has that revolt brought prosperity to Wirral - and to Britain?
6% economic hit
Nationally, economic analysis suggests that Brexit has led to a "slow and cumulative drag" on the UK economy.
This is mainly due to decreased trade intensity, which the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says makes the economy less open and less productive.
By the end of 2021, UK goods imports from the EU had fallen by 18% compared to 2019, while exports to the EU dropped by 9%.
A recent study of Bank of England conducted by economic analysists suggests the economic impact of Brexit could be as high as 6% per cent over the decade.
About half of this is attributed to post-referendum uncertainty, with the rest linked to increased trade barriers following the UK's exit from the single market and customs union.
Wirral trade
The North West was identified before Brexit as one of the UK regions most vulnerable to these economic shifts.
For Wirral, one of the clearest effects has been increased trade friction, especially for manufacturers and exporters.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) introduced new customs requirements, regulatory changes, and border checks, all of which have increased costs for businesses.
Between 2017 and 2024, UK exports to the EU fell by 23 per cent, while imports declined by just five per cent.
Economists estimate that goods trade is now 15 per cent lower than it would have been without Brexit, and services trade is 11 per cent lower.
This has been particularly challenging for Wirral’s advanced manufacturing sector, a cornerstone of the local economy.
Higher costs for importing materials, supply chain disruptions, and increased administrative burdens have all taken a toll.
Wirral’s Economic Strategy 2021 said: "The full impacts of Brexit on supply chain, customs, workforce and regulations are still emerging," and identified Brexit as an ongoing threat to economic growth.
Freeports: a reason for optimism
One of the most significant post-Brexit opportunities for Wirral is the Liverpool City Region Freeport, which includes the major Wirral Waters regeneration site and is projected to facilitate £850 million of investment in Liverpool City Region.
Freeports were introduced as part of the UK Government’s post-Brexit economic vision to boost investment and trade by offering tax incentives, simplified customs processes, and opportunities for advanced manufacturing and innovation.
Eight English regions - including Liverpool City Region - were selected in to host one. The Liverpool City Region Freeport became fully operational in January 2023, with Wirral Waters in Birkenhead designated as one of its three key tax sites alongside Parkside in St Helens and 3MG in Halton.
The outer boundary of the freeport covers a 45km radius across all six local authority areas that make up the Liverpool City Region.
Businesses investing within the Wirral Waters tax site gain access to a substantial package of incentives: full business rate relief, employers' National Insurance contribution relief, Enhanced Capital Allowances on plant and machinery, and customs duty exemptions and deferrals for goods processed on site.
The freeport also gives the region the ability to retain locally generated business rates from new properties, ringfenced to further develop the sites.
MEA Park West (Marine, Energy and Automotive) is currently under construction in the freeport zone. The campus is a hub for waterside manufacturing, logistics, R&D and assembly over 1 million square metres of industrial space.
The wider LCR Freeport expects to create and sustain in excess of 10,000 jobs when fully operational, with the "vast majority" located across the three tax sites including Wirral Waters.
Some will argue the tax incentives of initiatives like the freeports are not significant enough when compared with the nationwide damage to growth wrought by Brexit.
For the majority of Wirral residents who voted Remain it will feel like cold comfort. What remains to be seen is whether Leave-voting areas like Birkenhead start to see some of the benefits from projects like Wirral Waters - and bring the regeneration we all want to see.
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