Many people raised concerns about the patchy coverage of services in the Brexit deal negotiated between the UK and EU, known as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The gaps have already caused some significant problems, especially for smaller firms. In principle, the TCA offered extensive market access for UK services businesses, including the mutual … Continue reading Brexit Britain’s resilient services sector is proving the gloomsters wrong
Tag: UK economy
Brexit: the good, the bad, and the little bit ugly
How time doesn’t always fly. It is a long five years since the UK voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum and the country still seems as divided about the impacts as ever. But as a Leave voter and Brexit optimist, I’m feeling increasingly positive. Let’s start with three things that have gone … Continue reading Brexit: the good, the bad, and the little bit ugly
It could have been worse
The unprecedented 20.4 per cent slump in UK GDP in a single month is obviously headline news, but still needs to be put in context. There are three key points. First, the April numbers are old news – about two months old. That’s an awful long time during a rapidly evolving crisis like this. Indeed, … Continue reading It could have been worse
The economy could pleasantly surprise us at how fast it recovers
The focus of economic policy is starting to shift from protecting businesses, jobs and incomes during the lockdown towards supporting the recovery. Business lobbies, ‘big state’ think tanks, academics and the TUC are all lining up to call for a huge fiscal stimulus. However, more intervention now could be exactly the wrong choice. Instead, we … Continue reading The economy could pleasantly surprise us at how fast it recovers
Plain-speaking Economics 