It’s the EU facing economic disaster NOT Brexit Britain, argues LEO MCKINSTRY
ACCORDING to the fevered predictions of pro-EU campaigners, Brexit would herald an economic apocalypse.
By LEO MCKINSTRY
Express.co.uk
Mon, Aug 1, 2016
Within days of a vote to withdraw, they warned, our country would be engulfed by the storms of financial crisis and commercial meltdown. But more than a month after the referendum this disaster has still failed to materialise.
Far from sinking into recession the British economy is buoyant. Despite all the gloomy talk about the likely damage caused by the referendum the latest figures show that growth in the second quarter to the end of June actually reached 0.6 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent in the first quarter.
The fundamentals are stronger than ever. Employment rates are at a record high, interest rates at a record low. Boom rather than gloom appears to be the prevailing mood of business.
Last week pharmaceutical conglomerate GlaxoSmithKline revealed plans to invest £275million at three of its British plants. Sir Andrew Witty, the company’s CEO, had said before the referendum that a vote to leave the EU would be “a mistake” because it would “create uncertainty”. Now Sir Andrew admits that post-Brexit “the underlying attractiveness in terms of the UK’s economic strengths and its fiscal environment haven’t changed”.
Consumed by their worship of Brussels and contempt for their own country the “Remoaners” argued that, in the event of a leave vote, Britain would become an insular, backward, isolated place, shivering on the sidelines while Europe forged ahead. That warning has proved empty.
Freed from Brussels bureaucracy Britain is now taking its place on the global stage as an outwardlooking nation. Already at least 27 countries have indicated to the Government that they would like to strike deals with the newly liberated Britain, while the new International Development Secretary Priti Patel, a prominent figure in the Leave campaign, declared yesterday that she wants to use Britain’s vast £11billion aid budget as leverage to boost our global trade.
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