A former MP who championed Brexit maintains that leaving the EU was the ‘right thing to do’ despite independent analysis showing the UK economy is worse off as a result.

Dehenna Davison, the Conservative politician who represented Bishop Auckland, was elected as part of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledge to ‘Get Brexit Done’ in 2019.

But almost five years later analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility has found that productivity, along with imports and exports, are down, while net immigration has risen.

Parliamentary candidate Sam Rushworth, who is hoping to win the constituency back for Labour, said Brexit has actually caused the small boat crisis as failed asylum seekers could previously be sent back to France.

Former MP Dehenna Davison Former MP Dehenna Davison (Image: PA) Ms Davison, 30, is now preparing for a new life in Brazil with her Foreign Office diplomat partner after announcing she is stepping down from her role as MP.

A former ally of Mr Johnson, and latterly, Liz Truss, Ms Davison defended Brexit, but admitted it could have been ‘done’ better.

She said: “Brexit was never just about numbers on the side of the bus or anything like that.

“It was about British people having authority over modern Britain.

“The concept of Brexit was absolutely the right thing to do.”

The UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016 after a referendum was called by David Cameron over concerns from the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party and the growing influence of Nigel Farage’s former party, UKIP.

The country finally left the EU, three-and-a-half years and two Prime Ministers later, with Mr Johnson’s so-called ‘oven-ready’ deal.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the 2019 campaign Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the 2019 campaign (Image: Contributor) Ms Davison said: “The problem is the implementation has been really challenging.

“There has been so much infighting and bickering and politicking about it.

“If people from all sides of the Brexit debate had got together after to really make the most of it rather than trying to claw bits back and back-biting I do think we would have had a more constructive hand to go to Europe with.

“Passion is a good thing but we really need to be able to set our passions aside and be really pragmatic and work with people who might not actually share our arguments to get the best outcomes.”

Ms Davison said she did not think the UK would be returning to the EU anytime soon because of the implications for the democratic process.

She said: “When you ask the public a direct question that affects democracy and that question is answered I think it would be such a colossal betrayal of trust to the British people to row back on that.

“Democracy in Britain would face a really dark time.

“Whichever political party was the one who said either ‘we are going to go back in’ or we are going to ask the question again would face the wrath of the electorate.”

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Since the announcement of the EU referendum the Office for Budget Responsibility has been analysing potential effects of Brexit on the economy and public finances.

The latest economy forecast finds Brexit reduces UK long-run productivity by four per cent relative to remaining in the EU because the increase in non-tariff barriers on UK-EU trade acts as an ‘additional impediment to the exploitation of comparative advantage’.

Studies have concluded both exports and imports will be around 15 per cent lower in the long run than if the UK had remained in the EU.

It also found new trade deals with non-EU countries – such as Japan and Australia - will not have a material impact, and any effect will be gradual, as deals concluded to date either replicate deals that the UK already benefited from as an EU member state.

The OBR said it assumed that the Government’s new post-Brexit migration regime would reduce net inward migration to the UK, settling at 129,000 a year in the medium-term.

It has since revised projections to reflect evidence of sustained strength in inward migration since the post-Brexit regime was introduced and now assumes net migration settles at 315,000 a year in the medium term, based on the ONS 2021-based interim population projections.

Labour leader Keir Starmer recently ruled out re-joining the EU, single market or customs union and said reopening the Brexit debate would bring ‘turmoil’.

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Mr Rushworth said: “We are not promising to re-join the European Union but that does not mean we cannot make people’s lives better by getting better deals.

“We can definitely get a deal that is more in our national interest.

“I don’t think anyone could really look at Britain today and say we are in a better place than we were a few years ago.

“We got a really bad Brexit deal.”

Mr Rushworth cited leaving the Dublin Treaty as an example.

Mr Rushworth said Brexit had caused the 'small boats crisis'Mr Rushworth said Brexit had caused the 'small boats crisis' (Image: PA)

He said: “It means we are no longer allowed to send asylum seekers straight back to France, which we used to be able to do.

“We had an agreement of co-operation regarding asylum seekers and losing that co-operation has caused the small boats crisis.”

He said weaknesses of the Brexit deal was also being felt by people in rural communities.

The Northern Echo:

Sam Rushworth Sam Rushworth (Image: Contributor) He said: “Our farmers are really struggling because they have lost their subsidies and what has replaced it has not been well put together for farmers in our area

“They rammed through a Brexit deal that no-one had time to read and it was not a good deal for the country.

“They got it wrong.”