Brexit has already cost average UK worker more than week's wages due to post-referendum price rises, research shows

The average worker has had to spend more than £404 to afford the same purchases as before the referendum

UK households are already paying the cost of Brexit due to higher prices, a new study has shown.

The average worker has had to spend more than £404, equivalent to more than a week’s wages, in the first year after the Brexit vote, according to a report by the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

The findings suggested the average household had to spend £7.74 more per week to afford the same purchases the year after the referendum.

Economics professor Dennis Novy, who contributed to the report, said: “It is clear that the average UK household is already paying the price for voting to leave the EU.

“The economic effects of leaving the EU will depend crucially on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the UK and the EU. But even before Brexit has actually taken place, the referendum shock of June 2016 has already had substantial economic costs for the typical household.”

James Kirkup, director of the Social Market Foundation, said: “Some politicians argue that no-one voted to be poorer in the EU referendum.

“This study shows that whatever voters' intentions, voting to leave the EU has already made everyone poorer.”

Researchers tried to establish how much of the recent increase in inflation was caused directly by the Brexit vote.

Inflation rose from 0.4 per cent in June 2016, when the referendum took place, to 2.6 per cent in June 2017, largely driven by weakness in the pound, which was a result of the vote.

Additional reporting by newswires