UK booming four months after Brexit

OFFICIAL figures show the UK economy is continuing to flourish in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Despite ministers, experts and business leaders warning of ‘a profound shock’, the Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 0.5 per cent between July and September, the three months following the referendum.

The figures leave the UK on course to be the fastest growing G7 economy this year.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said the figures showed the ‘fundamentals of the UK economy are strong’ as ministers prepare for crunch talks with European leaders on the terms of Britain’s EU exit.

Economists said the growth figures cast fresh doubt over the Bank of England’s economic analysis and ‘extinremain guished’ any remaining expectations of an additional cut in interest rates next week.

The growth figures came amid a welter of news indicating that the overall economy is responding far better to Brexit than ex-Chancellor George Osborne predicted.

Nissan confirmed it will build two new models at its plant in Sunderland, securing 7,000 jobs, following previous threats to quit Britain.

Japanese rival Toyota, which has a giant plant in Derbyshire, also pledged its future to the UK in another major vote of confidence in Britain.

The pro-Brussels CBI said British retailers had reported their strongest sales in more than a year.

Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, which campaigned to

‘Fantastic news for the UK’

in the EU, announced a surge in profits after the referendum – including a £1billion windfall from the fall in the value of the pound.

Former Westminster justice secretary Michael Gove last night said predictions that Britain’s economy would suffer in the long term would also prove to be untrue. The Aberdonian, who was criticised for attacking ‘expert’ economists during the referendum campaign, said: ‘We are seeing our economy is doing much better than many people predicted. It proves we are a valuable trading partner and quite a lot of the pessimistic scenarios about what leaving might involve won’t pan out that way.’

The Nissan announcement came amid a row over whether ministers had given the car giant a ‘sweetheart deal’.

Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said the firm had received ‘support and assurances’ from the UK Government.

But both sides flatly denied that ministers had agreed to directly subsidise Nissan in the event of it facing tariffs on exports after Brexit.

Mrs May described it as ‘fantastic news for the UK’, adding: ‘This vote of confidence shows that we remain an outward-looking, worldleading nation.’

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