Still, it’s clear politicians are on the case, as typified by chancellor Philip Hammond’s calls today for a more “pragmatic” approach to support UK economic growth.
While it may be still too early to call out a wholesale shift in economic policy from austerity to full-scale fiscal spending, we have nonetheless seen a change in direction that simply would not have happened had George Osborne still been calling the shots ahead of the 23 November Autumn Statement.
Hammond at least seems to have a firm grasp of the issues at hand, acknowledging today that the UK is heading for a “rollercoaster” during Brexit negotiations, while tearing up his predecessor’s target of a surplus by 2020.
With this in mind, Minouche Shafik, deputy governor, markets & banking at the Bank of England, warned last week the UK is experiencing a “sizeable economic shock” in the wake of the referendum and suggesting that further Bank action will be required.
“It seems likely to me that further monetary stimulus will be required at some point in order to help ensure that a slowdown in economic activity doesn’t turn into something more pernicious,” she says.
“However, the likely timing of that stimulus will depend on the continued evolution of the data over the coming weeks and months. Thus far, the welcome improvement in the forward looking indicators suggests that the slowdown may not be as sharp or as sudden as we might have feared.”
Whatever mode of tact the politicians use when addressing Brexit, it is clear that little will change until Article 50 is triggered, so having some certainty on when this will happen can only be interpreted as a positive.
