Brexit Britain faces long-term stagnation
Among the announcements from the Budget today, we received the growth forcasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. They were not good.
While the eurozone has been accelerating and is growing between 2-3%, the UK is not expected to break the 2% barrier until at least 2022. Instead of Brexiteer's vision of an unshackled Britain powering off to new heights while the EU is left struggling, it is instead the UK that is going to be strangled by sclerotic growth and stagnant wages while the economic situation in the EU continues to improve.
This cannot be simply shrugged off and ascribed to the vagaries of economic cycles. This is the first time in modern UK history that all years projected in the growth forecast predict GDP growth of less than 2%. We have never had such a lacklustre outlook.
And yet this is likely to be on the more optimistic end of predictions as they do not actually account for the negative effects of the UK leaving the Single Market and Customs Union. Incredibly Brexit has managed to put Britain in a position where historically unfavourable forecasts may end up being overly optimistic.
If this were any normal policy, the government would be considering a major u-turn and the opposition would be demanding it be abandoned. Sadly Brexit is instead being treated as a divine commandment and any and we are being told that negative impacts on our lives are just something we will have to live with.
How is this acceptable? How can this be considered patriotic? To endorse a policy that will actively harm the quality of life of millions of people in this country is an outrage. To do so in the name of democracy is symptomatic of the populism that has twisted our politics.
This future is not inevitable. But it will require far more politicians, and particularly our political leaders, to stand up and say the truth: Brexit is hurting the British people, this is unacceptable and cannot be continued.
While the eurozone has been accelerating and is growing between 2-3%, the UK is not expected to break the 2% barrier until at least 2022. Instead of Brexiteer's vision of an unshackled Britain powering off to new heights while the EU is left struggling, it is instead the UK that is going to be strangled by sclerotic growth and stagnant wages while the economic situation in the EU continues to improve.
This cannot be simply shrugged off and ascribed to the vagaries of economic cycles. This is the first time in modern UK history that all years projected in the growth forecast predict GDP growth of less than 2%. We have never had such a lacklustre outlook.
And yet this is likely to be on the more optimistic end of predictions as they do not actually account for the negative effects of the UK leaving the Single Market and Customs Union. Incredibly Brexit has managed to put Britain in a position where historically unfavourable forecasts may end up being overly optimistic.
If this were any normal policy, the government would be considering a major u-turn and the opposition would be demanding it be abandoned. Sadly Brexit is instead being treated as a divine commandment and any and we are being told that negative impacts on our lives are just something we will have to live with.
How is this acceptable? How can this be considered patriotic? To endorse a policy that will actively harm the quality of life of millions of people in this country is an outrage. To do so in the name of democracy is symptomatic of the populism that has twisted our politics.
This future is not inevitable. But it will require far more politicians, and particularly our political leaders, to stand up and say the truth: Brexit is hurting the British people, this is unacceptable and cannot be continued.
Comments
Post a Comment