One of the most dramatic claims made by those seeking to reverse Brexit is that leaving the EU is costing the UK economy ‘£100 billion every year’ in lost output, or about 4pc of GDP. Moreover, that would translate into about £40 billion in lost tax revenues, which happens to be roughly the same as … Continue reading Is Brexit really costing the UK economy £100 billion a year?
Category: global economy
UK economy has stalled but disaster not yet inevitable
First, the bad news – and there is plenty of it. Updated figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the UK economy failed to grow at all in the third quarter of the year, revised down from an increase in GDP of just 0.1%. Most forecasters, including the Bank of England, expect zero … Continue reading UK economy has stalled but disaster not yet inevitable
EU’s legal battles with Britain show Starmer’s ‘reset’ is a fool’s errand
The prospect of a ‘reset’ of the UK’s relations with the EU has excited some and alarmed others. This muddle of emotions has not been helped by a barrage of misinformation from supporters of much closer ties with the rest of Europe. So, how worried should we be? To be fair, the opening of negotiations … Continue reading EU’s legal battles with Britain show Starmer’s ‘reset’ is a fool’s errand
What’s gone wrong in Germany?
The German economy is stagnating. Last year was bad enough. The first official estimates suggest that output (measured by GDP) shrank by 0.3 per cent over 2023 as a whole – a full year recession – with output also down by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter alone. Unfortunately, the omens for 2024 are … Continue reading What’s gone wrong in Germany?
Plain-speaking Economics 