French economy will overtake UK’s as Brexit bites – but Britain will leapfrog them again within years even if Scotland and Northern Ireland quit the union
- France will replace the UK as sixth richest country, according to a report
- But Centre for Economics and Business Research say Britain will regain its spot
- CEBR said Brexit could actually boost the UK economy in the long term
France is set to replace the UK as the sixth richest country in the world, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said
The French economy will briefly become larger than Britain’s next year as Brexit uncertainty takes its toll, according to a report.
France is set to replace the UK as the sixth richest country in the world, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said.
But Britain’s fundamental strengths mean this country will quickly overcome the setback of being pushed into seventh place and will overtake France again to reclaim the sixth spot a year later.
The predictions, in an annual league table of economies by the CEBR, suggest that Brexit will have little impact on our international ranking in the long term. Britain is still slated to be in sixth spot by 2033, scotching claims from Remainers that the economy would be permanently damaged by leaving the EU.
The CEBR said that Brexit might actually boost the UK in the long run if it allows us to improve trading links with the Asian countries that are set to dominate this century.
And even if the political fallout from Brexit is so bad that Scotland and Northern Ireland declare independence, the rump of England and Wales would still be a larger economy than France by 2026.
Forecasters warned that despite French president Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to transform his country, there is no sign of Paris getting runaway state spending under control, which means they expect its economy to grow more slowly than post-Brexit Britain
Forecasters warned that despite French president Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to transform his country, there is no sign of Paris getting runaway state spending under control, which means they expect its economy to grow more slowly than post-Brexit Britain.
The US remains the world’s biggest economy, but China is expected to take first place by 2032.
Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman of the CEBR, said: ‘Despite global uncertainty and the tightening in US monetary policy which has pushed down some of the emerging market currencies, the 21st century is still likely to be the Asian century.
‘This is one reason why, even though Brexit will be disruptive in the short term, long term it is unlikely to do much damage to the UK economy and might, on some assumptions, boost it.’