A Remainer has been ridiculed by Andrew Neil for blaming Brexit for the UK’s economic downturn. It was announced today that the UK has officially entered a recession in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s promise to kickstart growth, one of his five priorities for government.
The Office for National Statistics said the GDP fell 0.3 percent from October to December of last year, with a decline in the main sectors of the economy and a collapse in retail sales.
Throughout 2023, growth as a whole was estimated at 0.1 percent, making it the weakest year since the financial crisis of 2009, excluding the collapse in 2020 during the pandemic.
Andrew Neil posted on X (formerly Twitter): “The economy technically went into mild recession, one it’s probably already started leaving, making it one of the shortest/shallowest downturns of the past century.
“But it still has huge political significance. PM Sunak promised to grow the economy in 2023 not tilt it into recession. So another pledge on which he’s failed to deliver.”
Agenda for Reform replied saying: “We’d be in a much better state if Brexit hadn’t smashed our GDP by five percent a year since the vote to leave EU.”
According to Goldman Sachs, the UK is worse off today than before Brexit with the economy growing five percent less over the past eight years than other comparable countries.
The Wall Street bank put this down to reduced trade, weaker business investment, and lower immigration from the EU.
Neil ridiculed the Remainer in response, saying: “Spot on, old bean. Very perspicacious. I mean, just look at how the German economy is racing ahead. Oh wait …”
He referenced Germany, which is also in a recession, with Commerzbank Chief Economist Jörg Krämer forecasting a further shrink in the economy of 0.3 percent over 2024.
