Don’t panic. The economy will do just fine. In fact, with solid political leadership and sound policy making, it is more likely that growth will surprise on the upside than disappoint on the downside in the coming years.
Now that the country has voted to leave the EU, what lies ahead?
The UK needs a clear vision. We need to reaffirm that we are becoming Global Britain, not Little Britain – a good place to do business in and to do business from across the globe.
Indeed, with quality goods at a competitive price, we can sell not just into the Single Market from outside the EU but into many markets across the globe. We must ensure people realise that this was not a vote against Europe but against the institutions and working practices of the European Union. That is a big difference. Also, contrary to the social media comments since Thursday, we are now in a position to reaffirm our status as one of the most open and tolerant societies in the world. And we can do that with a sensible migration policy.
GERARD LYONS: Now Britain's going global - and the economy will do just fine
By Gerard Lyons For The Mail On Sunday
26 June 2016
Gerard Lyons is Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth and a member of Economists for Brexit
Don’t panic. The economy will do just fine. In fact, with solid political leadership and sound policy making, it is more likely that growth will surprise on the upside than disappoint on the downside in the coming years.
Now that the country has voted to leave the EU, what lies ahead?
The UK needs a clear vision. We need to reaffirm that we are becoming Global Britain, not Little Britain – a good place to do business in and to do business from across the globe.
With solid political leadership and sound policy making, it is more likely that growth will surprise on the upside than disappoint on the downside in the coming years, writes GERARD LYONS
Indeed, with quality goods at a competitive price, we can sell not just into the Single Market from outside the EU but into many markets across the globe. We must ensure people realise that this was not a vote against Europe but against the institutions and working practices of the European Union. That is a big difference. Also, contrary to the social media comments since Thursday, we are now in a position to reaffirm our status as one of the most open and tolerant societies in the world. And we can do that with a sensible migration policy.
Migration is good for an economy but the scale of current migration highlights problems. Two wrongs do not make a right.
The first wrong was the inability to limit the numbers from the rest of the EU and the second that we sought to counteract this by discriminating against those from outside the EU. With a future UK points based system there will be scope for greater flexibility.
It was also clear that the scale of migration prevented wages from rising in some areas and increased pressure on public services and housing, creating tensions. This highlighted the need for both a sensible approach and for the government to invest more in infrastructure and to boost housing supply.
Gerard Lyons: Britain will prosper from Brexit
All this can happen now – but it will take time. The EU may have been the future once but no more. Our eyes are set wider. Leaving the EU now allows the UK to better position itself in a changing global economy. Indeed, despite near-term uncertainty, there are many reasons to be positive about what lies ahead. At Davos this year, the debate was on whether there is a new industrial revolution under way. The answer has to be yes. Global growth prospects may become more positive in coming years, but not just yet.
The more we think about this, the more it makes sense to be thinking globally while distancing Britain from the plethora of crises that lie ahead for the EU. These might include the Italian banking crisis, the German life insurance crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the youth unemployment crisis and the euro crisis. We too, however, need to be mindful of our own potential current account crisis. There was no way that Remain could argue that the UK would be better off in the EU to take on global challenges. Indeed, Remain never provided positive reasons to stay in the EU. Their argument was always that the EU would reform, which we know from experience it fails to do.
The UK now needs to embrace free trade outside the EU, to think globally and to focus on pro-growth policies driven by increased investment, infrastructure and innovation, where services, the City and manufacturing play their part
The UK now needs to embrace free trade outside the EU, to think globally and to focus on pro-growth policies driven by increased investment, infrastructure and innovation, where services, the City and manufacturing play their part.
We also need to start thinking less about zero-hour contracts and more about taking pride in ensuring that workers’ rights are protected by Parliament.
In economic terms, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s longer term outlook. In an era of globalisation, technical change and innovation, the UK has made a clear, bold decision to distance itself from the centralising, controlling and regulating environment of the EU.
The countries that will succeed need to be global in their outlook, adaptable, flexible, and to control their own destiny. All this starts to become real from now. I strongly supported the economic case for Brexit. But in doing so I was critical of the use of the £350 million figure. I also described leaving as an economic shock, which would hit in the near term.
The extent to which it impacts will depend upon the interaction between the economic fundamentals, policy and confidence. The right policy response could help minimise any shock and boost confidence.
The countries that will succeed need to be global in their outlook, adaptable, flexible, and to control their own destiny. All this starts to become real from now, writes Lyons
My description was that Brexit would be like a tick, or a ‘Nike swoosh’ in terms of its economic outlook. After the initial challenge, the further ahead one projects, the better that the UK’s economic prospects become.
The reassuring policy statement from the Bank of England Governor on Friday helped send a clear, positive message.
The City is in a very strong position to be able to withstand an economic shock, with the Bank set to take whatever action is needed to stabilise the markets, with interest rates set to remain low for some time. Alongside a weaker pound, this will help stabilise the economy.
Many young people backed Remain, for many reasons, including fears that they would be unable to travel freely if we left the EU. That is nonsense. People can travel freely across the globe now. But I agree with this desire to break down the borders, and that is what we can do in economic and trading terms outside the EU.
Now that the country has voted to leave the EU, what lies ahead?
The UK needs a clear vision. We need to reaffirm that we are becoming Global Britain, not Little Britain – a good place to do business in and to do business from across the globe.
Indeed, with quality goods at a competitive price, we can sell not just into the Single Market from outside the EU but into many markets across the globe. We must ensure people realise that this was not a vote against Europe but against the institutions and working practices of the European Union. That is a big difference. Also, contrary to the social media comments since Thursday, we are now in a position to reaffirm our status as one of the most open and tolerant societies in the world. And we can do that with a sensible migration policy.
GERARD LYONS: Now Britain's going global - and the economy will do just fine
By Gerard Lyons For The Mail On Sunday
26 June 2016
Gerard Lyons is Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth and a member of Economists for Brexit
Don’t panic. The economy will do just fine. In fact, with solid political leadership and sound policy making, it is more likely that growth will surprise on the upside than disappoint on the downside in the coming years.
Now that the country has voted to leave the EU, what lies ahead?
The UK needs a clear vision. We need to reaffirm that we are becoming Global Britain, not Little Britain – a good place to do business in and to do business from across the globe.
With solid political leadership and sound policy making, it is more likely that growth will surprise on the upside than disappoint on the downside in the coming years, writes GERARD LYONS
Indeed, with quality goods at a competitive price, we can sell not just into the Single Market from outside the EU but into many markets across the globe. We must ensure people realise that this was not a vote against Europe but against the institutions and working practices of the European Union. That is a big difference. Also, contrary to the social media comments since Thursday, we are now in a position to reaffirm our status as one of the most open and tolerant societies in the world. And we can do that with a sensible migration policy.
Migration is good for an economy but the scale of current migration highlights problems. Two wrongs do not make a right.
The first wrong was the inability to limit the numbers from the rest of the EU and the second that we sought to counteract this by discriminating against those from outside the EU. With a future UK points based system there will be scope for greater flexibility.
It was also clear that the scale of migration prevented wages from rising in some areas and increased pressure on public services and housing, creating tensions. This highlighted the need for both a sensible approach and for the government to invest more in infrastructure and to boost housing supply.
Gerard Lyons: Britain will prosper from Brexit
All this can happen now – but it will take time. The EU may have been the future once but no more. Our eyes are set wider. Leaving the EU now allows the UK to better position itself in a changing global economy. Indeed, despite near-term uncertainty, there are many reasons to be positive about what lies ahead. At Davos this year, the debate was on whether there is a new industrial revolution under way. The answer has to be yes. Global growth prospects may become more positive in coming years, but not just yet.
The more we think about this, the more it makes sense to be thinking globally while distancing Britain from the plethora of crises that lie ahead for the EU. These might include the Italian banking crisis, the German life insurance crisis, the Greek debt crisis, the youth unemployment crisis and the euro crisis. We too, however, need to be mindful of our own potential current account crisis. There was no way that Remain could argue that the UK would be better off in the EU to take on global challenges. Indeed, Remain never provided positive reasons to stay in the EU. Their argument was always that the EU would reform, which we know from experience it fails to do.
The UK now needs to embrace free trade outside the EU, to think globally and to focus on pro-growth policies driven by increased investment, infrastructure and innovation, where services, the City and manufacturing play their part
The UK now needs to embrace free trade outside the EU, to think globally and to focus on pro-growth policies driven by increased investment, infrastructure and innovation, where services, the City and manufacturing play their part.
We also need to start thinking less about zero-hour contracts and more about taking pride in ensuring that workers’ rights are protected by Parliament.
In economic terms, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s longer term outlook. In an era of globalisation, technical change and innovation, the UK has made a clear, bold decision to distance itself from the centralising, controlling and regulating environment of the EU.
The countries that will succeed need to be global in their outlook, adaptable, flexible, and to control their own destiny. All this starts to become real from now. I strongly supported the economic case for Brexit. But in doing so I was critical of the use of the £350 million figure. I also described leaving as an economic shock, which would hit in the near term.
The extent to which it impacts will depend upon the interaction between the economic fundamentals, policy and confidence. The right policy response could help minimise any shock and boost confidence.
The countries that will succeed need to be global in their outlook, adaptable, flexible, and to control their own destiny. All this starts to become real from now, writes Lyons
My description was that Brexit would be like a tick, or a ‘Nike swoosh’ in terms of its economic outlook. After the initial challenge, the further ahead one projects, the better that the UK’s economic prospects become.
The reassuring policy statement from the Bank of England Governor on Friday helped send a clear, positive message.
The City is in a very strong position to be able to withstand an economic shock, with the Bank set to take whatever action is needed to stabilise the markets, with interest rates set to remain low for some time. Alongside a weaker pound, this will help stabilise the economy.
Many young people backed Remain, for many reasons, including fears that they would be unable to travel freely if we left the EU. That is nonsense. People can travel freely across the globe now. But I agree with this desire to break down the borders, and that is what we can do in economic and trading terms outside the EU.
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