Not long after the UK left the EU in 2020, a Bristol-based firm called Eskimo started selling a new kind of high-fashion and energy-efficient electric radiator, based on new technology developed by academics in the city.

They planned to send them around Europe using the Channel Tunnel.

It was a timely product given Europe’s green ambitions, and with orders flowing, its Birmingham factory was being kept busy.

The boss Phil Ward tells me his start-up has continued to grow, but that in his view it could have been so much more without what he calls “the Long Brexit effect”: in 2020, 40% of his exports went to the European Union, and by 2025 it was just 5%.

The post-Brexit deal agreed with the EU by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December 2020 guaranteed zero tariffs on exports to the EU, but Ward says that despite this, red tape and paperwork not directly related to tariffs were enough to create delays, costs and the expectation of hassle for prospective customers.

Eskimo did manage to export some goods to agents in France but it stopped selling directly to European consumers entirely. A planned expansion to Germany floundered.

And as Eskimo discovered when it attempted to export towel rails to Australia and New Zealand, both countries abide by international safety standards that are heavily influenced by the EU’s CE mark.

This matters because one theoretical potential Brexit benefit was that it would allow UK regulators to not follow the EU’s safety regulations and take a more pro-innovation, less regulatory approach for high-tech inventions.

Eskimo’s experience is one example of a broader trend reflected in export figures. The UK Trade Policy Observatory at Sussex University calculated a rapid 26% reduction in the different types of UK exports by 2023, while a new study from Aston University Business School using five years of more detailed trade data concludes a loss of 53.8% of the type of exports and 31.5% for imports.

These figures for “trade varieties” are falls in the number of products sent to different EU countries.

A decade ago, many economists argued the UK would sustain longer-term economic damage by leaving the EU and many believe that damage has come to pass.

But to make that call you have to compare what did happen with what might otherwise have happened were it not for Brexit and doing that is a matter of method and statistical judgement.

And that judgement has to account for the fact that the period since Brexit has been a time of huge global flux. The pandemic that struck in the spring of 2020, the war in Ukraine that began two years later and, more recently, the energy price shock sparked by the conflict in Iran all have to be accounted for.

So too does the question of whether a Brexit-free UK would have really kept up with the Silicon Valley tech boom in recent years to the extent Brexit Britain has.

The clear consensus of economists making the calculations say they have factored in the global turmoil when assessing Brexit’s impact. Others question their methods and the extent of Brexit’s impact.

Some of the most negative predictions back in 2016, including those that said the UK could experience a Great Depression‑style hit, proved unduly pessimistic. Whatever economic hit there was, it was not sudden enough to cause an instant recession.

But those who believe the UK did sustain longer-term economic damage by leaving the EU say the hit was no less profound.

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Authority aims to ‘strengthen Prescot’s position as a thriving town’

The demolition of unused parts of Prescot Shopping Centre has now been completed, as the council works to “transform” the site. While the parts of the centre which house a post office, library, museum and charity furniture shop among other premises remain, the former Stephenson Printworks building and former supermarket unit have now gone.

The former supermarket had been vacant for 18 years, and the council has said its demolition has created possibilities for investment into the town centre.

It comes after proposals for the regeneration of the shopping centre site were supported by Knowsley Council, which, working with developer Cityheart, has created proposals to use the site to “strengthen Prescot’s position as a thriving town”.

The redevelopment would include:

• A new library, museum and cultural space, which the council said would be a central hub for learning and community activity.
• Improved retail space near the high street.
• New open-air pedestrian routes.
• Enhanced car parking facilities to support retail premises.
• Space for future new homes including affordable properties.

Prescot’s existing library and museum remain open within the shopping centre. Improvement works to the shopping centre car park are set to begin in the coming weeks.

There will be a public consultation at a later date as plans for the site are developed further.

Knowsley’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, Cllr Tony Brennan, said: “The completion of the first phase of works at the Prescot Shopping Centre site marks another significant milestone in the town’s regeneration.

“This important step clears the way for another stage of investment and reflects our continued commitment to creating a vibrant, modern town centre that meets the needs of residents, businesses and visitors. We look forward to building on this momentum as the transformation of Prescot continues.”

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

Google’s YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida, in a fresh legal blow for online platforms accused of fuelling a mental health crisis among children.

The teenager, who used the initials R.K.C. in court documents, alleged that YouTube and other social media firms had designed their platforms to be addictive.

“This matter has been amicably resolved and our focus remains on building age-appropriate products and parental controls that deliver on that promise,” Google spokesman José Castañeda said in a statement to the BBC.

R.K.C. is also suing Instagram-parent Meta, TikTok, and Snap Inc in a trial currently set to begin on 27 July.

R.K.C.’s allegations will be the second such case, following a similar one brought by a 20-year old California woman, known as K.G.M., who won a $6m (£4.5m) verdict against YouTube and Meta earlier this year.

The result was expected to have implications for hundreds of social media addiction cases.

Snap and TikTok settled K.G.M.’s case before the start of trial.

“As jurors saw in the first bellwether trial, leadership at these social media companies have been strategizing for years to hook children early and maximize their usage,” said R.K.C.’s attorneys John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott in a statement.

They said features like autoplay and infinite scroll are designed “with the aim of increasing profits at the expense of the mental health of our youth”.

Google told the BBC it had built YouTube “responsibly – working with families to give young people safer, more helpful experiences online” for more than a decade.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at more than one-week lows on Tuesday, dragged down by sharp losses in semiconductor stocks as investors scrutinized growing debt-funded AI spending and braced ‌for a ⁠more hawkish ⁠U.S. Federal Reserve. The Dow ended slightly lower.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index and the S&P 500 information tech sector index both fell.

Nvidia and Alphabet slid while chipmakers Intel, Marvell Technology and Advanced Micro Devices also fell.

“Some of the news lately about AI raises questions about all the spending that’s being done and the capex and ramping of the capacity for semiconductors,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt. Concerns over hyperscalers’ debt-funded ⁠AI spending ‌have contributed to the selloff. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which debuted this month, has joined a list of megacaps tapping the bond market to raise capital.

Shares ⁠of SpaceX rose, following losses in the last three sessions.

Memory chipmakers Micron Technology and SanDisk , among the best performers on the S&P 500 this year, fell.
Micron’s earnings results on Wednesday could offer clues on the outlook for the memory and AI chip sector after a searing rally this year. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 108.42 points, or 1.45%, to end at 7,364.37 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 578.76 points, or 2.21%, to 25,587.84. ‌The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44.67 points, or 0.09%, to 51,665.32.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit an over-one-week high.

Traders are increasingly betting on a second interest ⁠rate hike by the Fed by December, according to LSEG data, compared to expectations of just one 25-basis-point hike two weeks ago, as investors price in hawkish monetary policy under new Chair Kevin Warsh.

Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected on Thursday. Investors are watching developments in the Middle East after the U.S. waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days following the first round of talks under a nascent peace deal.