Constituency

South Norfolk

Party
Labour
Region
East of England
Official portrait of Ben Goldsborough
MP

Ben Goldsborough

MP's page on parliament.uk

Photo: © House of Commons/Roger Harris (CC BY 3.0), cropped

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.

Source: Frontier Economics for Best for Britain

What rejoining could mean here

Estimated boost to the East of England's economy (GVA) each year from EU membership

+£712m

a year

Brexit has cost the South Norfolk council area an estimated £198m a year since 2016.

How is this worked out?

Gross value added (GVA) is the value of the goods and services produced in an area.

Researchers at the Brexit Cost Project compared each council area's actual output with an estimate of what it would have been without Brexit. They built that estimate from a weighted mix of economies elsewhere, in Europe, the US and other advanced economies, whose output tracked the area's closely before the 2016 referendum.

The difference between the two is the estimated effect of Brexit. It's a modelled estimate, not a measured loss, and the researchers say it should be read as evidence of how places diverged after 2016 rather than as precise accounting.

The figure shown is the average gap for each year from 2016 to 2023, the latest year of official local output data. It's in real terms, at 2019 prices, and is the headline estimate on this council area's page at brexitcost.org. The council area may be larger or smaller than the constituency.

Source: Frontier Economics; council figure from the Brexit Cost Project

What voters think in South Norfolk

Which EU relationship people in South Norfolk most want the UK Government to propose

When they had to choose one

  1. EU membership33.8%, average across GB constituencies 34.3%
  2. Single market6.9%, average across GB constituencies 6.6%
  3. Customs union5.6%, average across GB constituencies 5.3%
  4. UK Government position18.8%, average across GB constituencies 17.4%
  5. Status quo7.7%, average across GB constituencies 8.2%
  6. Loosen ties9.5%, average across GB constituencies 9.7%
  7. Don't know17.7%, average across GB constituencies 18.4%
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 South Norfolk

  • My main reasons for rejoining are because I am appalled by the rise in right wing populism, and feel that being part of a multinational group normalises getting on with people from other nations.

    alison Willis

    9 November 2026

  • I want the UK to rejoin as soon as possible - I don't want either the country, or me personally, to be any poorer thanks to a small number of very rich people hijacking an advisory referendum (which was strictly 'advisory' and had no legal imperative for implementation) in order to avoid forthcoming EU clampdowns on tax avoidance and money laundering, which the crooks and spivs behind this scam were not keen on complying with. It's to the great detriment of the far-right that they turned to racist elements and made a huge thing of immigration to win their case. Ironically there was an enormous increase of immigration via small boats post-Brexit, which was used to justify the decision, with little scrutiny of the financial losses Brexit engendered. I want this self-harming farrago over as soon as possible. As a bonus I'd like to see the people behind it who lied without compunction to be punished for their damage to the country (although that won't happen as it would open up all sorts of cases against the corrupt). Start the tricky rejoin negotiations ASAP and let's end this nightmare.

    Van Blerk

    9 November 2026

  • I voted to stay in the EU previously as I believe the benefits outweigh any negatives. It brings economic benefits for companies and educational benefits for my children and grandchildren. Personally it makes retirement abroad a possibility. I would rather be aligned to the morality and diverseness of Europe than aligned to the USA.

    Paula smith

    9 November 2026

  • I live in fear of not being subject to the European Constitution of Human Rights. Furthermore, it is only since the last Ice Age that the British Isles have been separated by Sea from mainland Europe, about 9,000 years, which is peanuts for a species that has been around for 200,000 years in its anatomically modern form and evolved to form coalitions of smaller units into defensive groupings.

    Nell Aubrey

    9 November 2026

  • I strongly believe that the UK should rejoin the EU. I work for a clothing brand managing both import and export which has been rendered significantly more difficult and costly since we left the EU. Rejoining would ease the processes saving both time and money. Making UK businesses more profitable will add more to the UK's tax take which can be spent on vital public services recovering from decades of underinvestment. Unity is strength and the UK as part of the EU will be in a more secure position from the impact of foreign state and non-state actors who wish us harm. We can no longer rely on the support of an increasingly volatile US. I also want myself and my daughter, when she is old enough, to be able to travel and work freely throughout Europe.

    Christopher Bird-Butler

    8 November 2026

Which sectors could benefit most from EU membership?

South Norfolk has:

3,676

people employed in manufacturing, mining and utilities

GB average: 4,334 per constituency

5,592

people employed in retail and wholesale

GB average: 6,882 per constituency

1,730

people employed in accommodation and food services

GB average: 2,447 per constituency

Health

as its biggest employing industry

These figures count people who live in the constituency and work in each industry (Census 2021; in Scotland, Scotland's Census 2022).

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

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.