Claim Being in Europe means lower prices in UK shops, saving the average UK household over £350 a year. If we left Europe, your weekly shop could cost more.

Conclusion This isn’t the impact of being in the EU as such, but one estimate of the impact of the free trade deals the EU has negotiated—a saving of 1.27% for the average household. It’s difficult to say overall what the impact of being in the EU has had on prices in the UK.

“Being in Europe means lower prices in UK shops, saving the average UK household over £350 a year. If we left Europe, your weekly shop could cost more”.

London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance

The research this figure is based on found that free trade agreements negotiated by the EU had led to lower prices for imported goods that UK consumers buy. The researchers say that’s because free trade agreements remove or reduce import taxes called tariffs on goods from outside the EU, which increases the flow of those goods into the EU market, which increases competition and in turn leads to better quality products and lower prices.

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