PNN – The latest report of the UK National Statistics Center (ONS) shows that the country’s economy is still struggling with the negative consequences of Brexit (UK leaving the European Union) and has not reached stability.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, based on the data of Evans, the monthly index of the UK’s gross domestic product in October 2024 has decreased by 0.1% for the second month in a row. The statistics also show that the service index did not experience any growth and the production and construction sectors decreased by 0.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively. This is while economic experts were predicting that the British economy will return to the upward cycle after the decline in September.
Critics blame the new government’s economic policies for the current situation. In the first budget bill of the new government, the British Prime Minister raised taxes to the highest level in three decades, contrary to his pre-election promises.
In the budget bill, which was presented to the House of Commons two months ago, 40 billion pounds of income from increased taxes is predicted, of which 25 billion pounds will be provided only through the increase of insurance premiums for working people. It is described as the biggest tax increase in a British government budget bill since John Major’s government in 1993 to plug the budget deficit.
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British finance Minister Rachel Reeves described the new figures as disappointing, but announced that the government is committed to implementing its economic policies. He claimed: We are determined to put the economy on the path of growth. Although this month’s figures are disappointing, we have new policies in place for long-term economic growth.
The fact is that according to statistics, the British economy is in the worst state of the last half century, and the cost of living crisis, along with fluctuating inflation, has caused widespread dissatisfaction in this country. London officials insist that the country’s economic problems are caused by the Corona epidemic and the war in Ukraine. The new government, which took office last July, has used the 22 billion pound financial hole in the public budget as an excuse to increase taxes while justifying economic problems.
However, analysts and most people believe that Brexit has dealt a heavy blow to the island’s economy. Statistical data also show that British economic growth has lost 140 billion pounds due to Brexit, and experts predict that this figure will reach 311 billion pounds by 2035.
According to studies by the Center for European Reform, Brexit will cost the British economy between 75 and 125 billion pounds annually, which is equivalent to 3 to 5 percent of the country’s GDP. This European think tank has found that Britain has lost 30 billion pounds in investment, trade and taxes as a result of leaving the European Union.
The Economist magazine wrote in a report: England is stuck in a 15-year uncertainty. The country tends to think of itself as a dynamic, free-market place, but its economy lags behind many of the world’s rich countries. According to the Economist, a deep hole has taken root in the British economy, and leaving the European Union has worsened the situation.