Ten years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the most revealing aspect of Brexit is not what happened, but what did not. The promised economic renaissance never arrived. Yet neither did the collapse predicted by some of its fiercest critics. What emerged instead was something more subtle and perhaps more consequential: a slower, less dynamic economy whose losses accumulated quietly over time.

Political campaigns are won on grand promises. Brexit was sold as a route to restored sovereignty, regulatory freedom and global commercial opportunity. In formal terms, those objectives were achieved. Britain regained control over trade policy, immigration rules and regulatory frameworks. The country’s elected governments now enjoy greater latitude in shaping economic policy without reference to Brussels. The problem is that economic freedom and prosperity are not the same thing.

Modern trade depends less on tariffs than on the absence of friction. For decades, British firms operated within a vast integrated market where goods, services and capital moved with minimal obstacles. Leaving that framework inevitably introduced costs. Customs declarations, regulatory compliance, border checks and divergent standards may........

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