Hammond expects sharp slowdown for UK in 2017
The Chancellor of the Exchequer confirms corporate tax cuts, raises the minimum wage, and unveils a package of UK-wide investment projects
London — Britain’s economic growth will slow sharply next year, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told parliament on Wednesday in the government’s first budget statement since the nation voted to exit the European Union (EU). Britain’s shock June 23 vote to leave the European Union would "change the course of Britain’s history", Hammond said in his Autumn Statement, exactly five months after the referendum. "Brexit makes more urgent than ever the need to tackle our economy’s long-term weaknesses." Gross domestic product was expected to grow by just 1.4% next year — sharply down from the prior estimate of 2.2% given in March. "That is slower of course than we would wish, but still equivalent to the IMF’s forecast for Germany, and higher than the forecast for growth in many of our European neighbours including France and Italy," Hammond told MPs. He noted however that the UK’s economy was predicted to have expanded by 2.1% this year, up from the government’s previous estimate...
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