State aid rules and Brexit

Article

The EU’s policy of state aid control has become a focal point of debate since the UK’s 2016 referendum.

Some proponents of leaving the EU have argued that, freed from the constraints of EU rules on state aid, the UK would have more flexibility to embark on an active industrial policy; opponents have countered that this overstates the stringency of the rules.

This short briefing seeks to assess these claims, exploring the role of state aid rules in the EU and how these might change under different Brexit scenarios.

Related items

  1. The Home Office building in London

    English devolution and migration: A role for strategic authorities

    As English devolution accelerates, strategic authorities are becoming more important actors in policy areas that shape how people settle, integrate and build lives in local communities. 

  2. Windrush Day: The unfinished business of immigration reform

    Eight years after the Windrush scandal, its lessons remain highly relevant to debates about immigration policy today. 
  3. A front three quarter length view of a small group of university students walking together talking in the city on an autumn day in Newcastle, England

    A generation apart? Youth politics, alienation and democratic renewal in Britain

    Public debate about young people and politics is loud, contested – and largely wrong.