Midlothian
- Party
- Labour
- Nation
- Scotland
The cost of Brexit · UK-wide
Brexit's estimated hit to UK economic output (GVA) in 2023
−£188.8bn
−7.7% of output
That's about £2,835 for every person in the UK, compared with an estimate of where the economy would have been without Brexit.
Source: Brexit Cost Project (Alabrese, Edenhofer, Fetzer and Wang, 2026), real terms at 2019 prices
What rejoining could mean · UK-wide
Long-term boost to the UK economy (GDP) from EU membership
+£92bn
at least
Plus at least £43bn a year more in UK exports.
What rejoining could mean here
Estimated boost to the Scottish economy (GVA) each year from EU membership
+£583m
a year
Source: Frontier Economics
What voters think in Midlothian
Which EU relationship people in Midlothian most want the UK Government to propose
When they had to choose one
Support for EU membership here: In the top quarter of constituencies
About this survey
YouGov surveyed 11,927 people. The survey was carried out between 27th May – 11th June 2026.
The survey was conducted using an online interview of members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 400,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
Voices from Midlothian
I want to renew our membership of the EU to reinstate freedom of movement of people and services. I am part of the music community in Scotland and artists have suffered terribly by not being able to tour Europe and as an artistic community we have suffered by not being able to enjoy smaller european groups of artists visiting and sharing creativity. Also many of the small business owners that I know have had to put prices up because of the additional bureaucracy of importing and exporting. I also feel strongly that in these dangerous times our democracy and defence would be better served by being part of a larger block of like minded nations. It seems clear to me that the Brexit vote was manipulated by forces outwith the UK & these forces must be resisted.
R. W.
9 November 2026
Which sectors could benefit most from EU membership?
Midlothian has:
people employed in manufacturing, mining and utilities
people employed in retail and wholesale
people employed in accommodation and food services
In the top quarter of constituenciesas its biggest employing industry
Why these jobs matter for our relationship with Europe
These three industries employ people in every constituency, and each depends on how easily goods, services and people move between the UK and Europe.
Manufacturing: Frontier Economics found that 81% of the £43 billion a year growth in exports from EU membership would come from manufacturing.
Retail: Rejoining the EU would remove the customs checks and paperwork that have added red tape and costs for shops and their suppliers since Brexit, making it cheaper and simpler to stock goods from Europe.
Food services: Pubs, restaurants and hotels have struggled to fill vacancies since free movement ended. EU membership would let them recruit seasonal workers from across Europe again and help bring down costs for hospitality businesses across the country.
Sources and methodology
- GVA gap caused by Brexit: Brexit Cost Project
- People employed by industry and biggest employing industry: Census 2021, Office for National Statistics
- People employed by industry in Scotland: Scotland's Census 2022, National Records of Scotland
- Support for full EU membership: YouGov for Best for Britain
- GVA boost for Scotland: Frontier Economics for Best for Britain
- Postcode lookup: postcodes.io, using ONS data
- MP details and photos: UK Parliament Members API
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains NRS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.