020 7898 0500On a day when the House of Lords rejected the government’s Brexit bill, we saw further evidence that continuing uncertainty over the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the threat of a global trade war are impacting on the UK economy. The British Chambers of Commerce downgraded its growth forecasts for the UK and expects the economy to grow by just 1.3% this year. In 2019, the economy’s growth has been revised downwards from 1.5% to 1.4%.
Adam Marshall, Director General of the BCC, said “Our forecast should serve as a wake-up call to government – as it demonstrates that ‘business as usual’ is not an option when it comes to the economy.” Meanwhile, Theresa May has been heavily criticised for alluding to the existence of a Brexit dividend over the weekend. The Prime Minister claimed that the extra £20 billion a year that the NHS will receive by 2023 will be funded by money freed up by leaving the EU, but no figures support this claim. If the additional funding goes ahead, it will likely come from raising taxes and increased borrowing.
It’s another quiet day for economic data releases today, but tomorrow we will see CBI industrial trends orders for June before the interest rate decision on Thursday.
