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THE CER COMMISSION ON THE UK AND THE EU SINGLE MARKET
to immigration is pushing Britain towards the exit door, it is likely that the UK would restrict immigration from the EU upon exit. This would require Britain to increase taxes or cut spending. Moreover, British people can live freely elsewhere in the EU, and this is a major benefit for the 1.8 million people who do so. The EU’s very large labour market gives Britons a bigger range of jobs to choose from. If their skills are in shorter supply in another member-state than they are in the UK, their income may be higher than if they stay put. And the rest of the EU – particularly France and Spain – is a major destination for British retirees: over 400,000 are living in other EU member-states. In short, the high degree of economic integration between the UK and the EU will always require some system of shared governance. The EU will not allow the UK, upon leaving, to have the same level of access that it now has without paying a price. Britain will not be able to leave the EU and remain in the single market, unless it is willing to sign up to EU rules that it did not help to write.