Brexit is ‘good for our wealth’

BRITAIN will be among the top six of the world’s leading powerhouse economies in a decade’s time even without a Brexit deal, a key report predicts today.

UK finances, manufacturing and services are so fundamentally strong that the country is set to stay near the top of the international economic league table, however the departure from the EU unfurls.

Britons can look forward to surging economic growth of two per cent a year or more a year from 2023 as “the economy takes advantage of new opportunities emerging from Brexit”, according to the research.

The upbeat picture of the UK’s future outside the EU comes as Prime Minister Theresa May remains confident she can get her Brexit deal passed by Parliament in the new year.

It is set out today in the latest update of the annual World Economic League Table published by the Centre for Economic and Business Research.

CEBR deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams said: “Even though Brexit will be disruptive in the short term, long term it is unlikely to do much damage to the UK economy and might, on some assumptions, boost it.”

Today’s report forecasts that the UK will remain the world’s sixth largest economy from 2023 to 2033 even though the country is set to be overtaken by fast-developing India.

The authors warn that the current political uncertainty about Brexit will slow UK economic growth over the next year. As a result, the UK is likely to be briefly overtaken by France in the World Economic League Table this year.

But however the departure from the EU unfurls, the UK’s fundamental economic strength will mean the country will be back failing France by 2023.

“We expect UK growth to be especially sluggish at 1.1 per cent per annum from 2018-23 as the economy absorbs Brexit,” said the CEBR.

“We expect an acceleration to 2.0 per cent annually from 2023-28 and to 2.1 per cent from 2028-33 as the economy takes advantage of opportunities emerging from Brexit.

“The UK is predicted to be overtaken by India soon, probably in 2019. But if the UK manages to withstand Brexit it looks likely to regain its standing in the world’s top six economies in 2020 and sustain this position for the foreseeable future.” in front of