United Kingdom: improving public finance, provided a Brexit deal
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond delivered the 2019 Spring statement in the midst of heightened Brexit-related uncertainties. The macroeconomic context, given by Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts, shows a bleak picture for 2019, but higher GDP growth in subsequent years. Assuming a Brexit deal, borrowing needs and public debt as a percentage of GDP should decrease over the coming years. The Tory Minister made a significant pledge to MPs: if they endorse a deal on the Withdrawal Agreement, the government would unlock further public expenditure. Those forecasts are based on the assumption that a Brexit deal is reached. Were the UK and the EU fail to reach a deal on the Withdrawal Agreement, growth assumptions, fiscal receipts and expenses and the expected public funds’ allocation would be dramatically modified.