The pain and gain of Brexit vote: British economy a year on
LONDON — Few events outside of war can have quite as much potential impact on the economy of a country as Britain’s decision a year ago to leave the European Union.
The momentous vote on June 23, 2016 has the potential to sever Britain’s ties to its main trading partner, a grouping it has spent more than four decades building ever-closer ties to. From subsidies for farmers to standards on consumer products and banishing all types of impediments to trade, the British economy is deeply enmeshed in the workings of the EU.
Since the vote, the British economy defied the gloomy recession predictions of many, including the British Treasury and the International Monetary Fund. Other forecasts like an immediate house price crash didn’t materialize either.
But other predicted events did occur, such as a sharp fall in the pound and rising inflation. And now that the official two-year Brexit process has begun, there are renewed signs of economic pain.