Can Johnson limit Brexit’s economic damages?

Can Johnson limit Brexit’s economic damages?

Last week, the UK's opposition Labour Party broke its three-month silence over Brexit to accuse the government of hiding evidence by not publishing an economic impact assessment. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves cited Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that leaving the European Union has reduced Britain's gross domestic product by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2021 and will lead to a 4% hit to UK productivity over the longer term. It's the latter estimate that's worrying. Without improved productivity, the economy will struggle to expand quickly enough. Britain's lagging productivity growth “” described by the Office for National Statistics as "unprecedented in the postwar era“ “” has blighted the country since the financial crisis. There has been much discussion about its causes, and some debate about how productivity is measured, but inadequate investment, skills and infrastructure share much of the blame. For Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it's hard to imagine a higher economic priority. A further worsening of productivity would undermine his twin challenges after the pandemic: fixing regional economic disparities and reaching a "net zero“ target for cutting carbon emissions. And yet, things may not be quite as bad as they appear. On the face of it,