The creeping damage of Brexit has continued in the first weeks of 2018. We look at five Brexit hits to the UK’s economy and international standing.
JLR puts on the brakes
Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s biggest car manufacturer, will be temporarily reducing production at its plant at Halewood in the north west. Sales were flat in 2017 and the company expects tough conditions to continue thanks to “ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit” and tax hikes on diesel cars.
Au revoir, big business
Emmanuel Macron has gathered leaders of some of the world’s largest companies to Versailles, partly to lure investors away from Brexit-damaged Britain. The French president hasn’t hidden the fact that he wants to erode London’s dominance in financial services or his desire to build up other sectors. Macron even gave part of the speech in English. Attendees included top dogs from Google, Goldman Sachs, Coca Cola and Facebook.
Not a great time to graduate
The number of new graduate jobs has fallen for the first time since the financial crisis. A survey of 100 graduate recruiters showed private sector organisations recruiting 10% fewer graduates by the end of 2017. This was blamed on a mixture of spiralling student debt and “uncertainty caused by Brexit”.
Space secrets to Spain
Spain has been picked as the new host of a data centre – currently in Swanwick, Hampshire – which protects military information gathered by the EU’s Galileo satellite programme. The move comes amid concerns about keeping such a sensitive installation in a non-EU country. The centre currently employs just one person as it is being set up, but the Spanish version is expected to employ up to 30. Not a significant employer perhaps, but a sign of how we’ll struggle to cooperate as effectively with the EU on security post Brexit.
Missing the boom times
Finally, the IMF upgraded global economic growth forecasts by 0.2% to 3.9% for this year and the next. The UK’s forecast was the exception – downgraded by 0.1% to 1.5%. Brexit is putting Britain in the economic slow lane.
Thanks Brexiters.
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Edited by Hugo Dixon
“Brexit uncertainty” as the universal cliche needs updating. There is nothing uncertain about the damage Brexit will cause and is already causing. The continued use of this euphemism is similar to the BBC’s careful impartiality, that they are so attached to. You won’t find them being impartial about climate change denial, however. Why is Brexit any different?