- Andy Haldane: ‘Very, very optimistic’ about the UK’s future
- Major companies shrug off challenges of leaving EU and invest billions
- But Haldane warns higher interest rates are taking their toll on the economy
Britain’s post-Brexit prospects are looking up amid evidence that Remain-backing firms are now ‘getting on with it’, the Bank of England’s former chief economist has declared.
Andy Haldane says he is ‘very, very optimistic’ about the UK’s future as major companies such as Nissan shrug off the challenges of leaving the European Union and invest billions in this country.
Haldane warned that higher interest rates are taking their toll on the economy as mortgage bills rise steeply and savings are fast being used up.
But in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday he argues that the ‘dynamism and energy and progress’ of many large firms are offering real hope.
Until now Haldane, who heads the Royal Society of Arts think-tank, has been reluctant to speak about Brexit.
Optimism: Britain’s post-Brexit prospects are looking up amid evidence that Remain-backing firms are now ‘getting on with it’
He was chief economist at the Bank of England during the 2016 referendum campaign. Many in the City were convinced that he would be appointed to replace Mark Carney as the next Governor of the Bank.
At that time, Carney was accused of stoking ‘Project Fear’ by warning of the damage that leaving the EU could cause.
Haldane said: ‘It was always the case that with any change of regime there are going to be short-term costs as people adjust. The lion’s share of those transitional costs are probably now beginning to dissipate. People are adjusting to the new world.
‘It’s a huge positive that business is just getting on with it and looking to new markets and new investments.’
US banking giant JPMorgan, whose boss Jamie Dimon was vocal about the perceived perils of a vote to leave the EU, is among the companies that have become comfortable with the outcome of the referendum.
Speaking at a global investment summit last month, Dimon hailed Britain’s ‘pro-growth’ stance. He described the UK as a ‘source of stability to the world’. Dimon declared: ‘You guys are doing great.’
Japanese giant Nissan, whose Sunderland car plant is the UK’s biggest, was also among those issuing dire warnings about Brexit but has since changed its tune. It has confirmed a series of multi-billion pound investments in the factory’s future and in November said it had ‘quickly adapted’ to Brexit, with the impact proving ‘negligible’.
Haldane told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The car industry was one of the most vocal about the concerns of Brexit and the fact that firms are adjusting and indeed investing I think is very encouraging.’
His intervention comes as forecasts suggest that the UK economy is set to stagnate over the coming year.
Haldane says he sees the potential for economic resurgence in Northern cities such as Liverpool, Sheffield and Sunderland. ‘I think there is huge latent energy in the UK economy.’
‘We have some brilliant businesses and we have some brilliant people,’ he says. ‘Lots of businesses and lots of places are pregnant with potential.
‘At the moment, there’s never been a more important time for us to get about it when it comes to firing up growth in this country.’
