Brexit has ‘costs’ as well as opportunities and success is not a given, says Hunt

JEREMY Hunt has admitted Brexit may be a factor in the weak UK economy, saying it comes with “costs” as well as opportunities.

The Chancellor, who backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, also said that while Brexit could be a “tremendous success” it would not happen “automatically”.

However he insisted he did not accept the premise that it would “make us poorer”.

The UK economy shrank by

0.2 per cent between July and September, heralding what the

Bank of England believes will be a record two-year long recession.

The UK was the only one of the G7 nations to see its economy shrink over the quarter, with Germany growing by 0.2% and the United States by 0.6%.

The UK is also the only G7 country to have a smaller economy now than before the Covid pandemic, with a contraction of 0.2%, compared to 0.2% growth in Germany and 4.2% in the US, suggesting Brexit is a factor.

Appearing on BBC1’S Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Hunt was asked if the Brexit struck by the UK was holding the economy back, and did not deny it was a factor.

He said: “Brexit is a big change that the country voted for, and whether it’s a success or not, is up to us – whether we embrace the opportunities of a different type of economy to one that we would have been in as part of the European single market.

“I believe we can make a tremendous success of it, but it’s not going to happen automatically.

“What you’ll hear on Thursday [in the autumn statement] is some of the ways that I think we can make a success of it.”

He said it was important to consider Brexit “in the round”.

He added: “I don’t deny there are costs to a decision like Brexit, but there are also opportunities and you have to see it in the round.

“I think we need think, that’s what we’ve decided to do, and we need to make it a success.

“Literally within months of formally leaving the EU, we had a once-in-a-century pandemic, which has meant the process of outlining what the opportunities are has taken longer, but I think we need to do that now.”

He did not think Brexit was the “biggest issue” with the UK’S economic performance, adding: “I think it’s much more to do with other factors in the labour market.”

Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor, last week doubled down on his claim that Brexit weakened the pound, which in turn had added to inflation.

Downing Street has suggested Rishi Sunak is no longer dwelling on the “clear decision” made by the British people six years ago.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer yesterday told the Sunday Express: “Let me clear about Brexit. There is no case for going back into the single market or customs union. Freedom of movement is over. There will be no return to that. What we want to do is make

Brexit work.”