Jeremy Vine was scolded by Ann Widdecombe on his Channel 5 daytime show for suggesting that the UK’s recession is the fault of Brexit. The BBC presenter, after holding up a piece of paper saying the UK was in recession, said during his Jeremy Vine on 5 show: “When I talk to Brexiteers and I say, ‘is it going very badly or just quite badly?’
“They just say, ‘oh don’t worry about it because every other country in Europe’s having a horrible time’.”
Former Brexit Party MEP and Tory minister retorted: “What that means is it’s not down to Brexit. Germany is doing very poorly at the moment and they’re the heart of Europe. They haven’t left.”
In January, the Guardian reported that Germany was on course for its first two-year recession since the early 2000s. The German national statistics office pointed to “multiple crises” including the price of energy and Covid for its shrinking economy.
Despite persistent challenges in the global economy and stagnant growth across Europe, Andy West, who appeared on the show next to Ms Widdecombe, said the UK’s economic woes were down to Brexit, before he was quickly put right.
He said of Germany: “They’re too late getting used to not being a massive industrial superpower. We did it 30 years ago. There are lots of different reasons why different countries are struggling and ours is Brexit.”
Ms Widdecombe hit back: “No, ours is not Brexit. We spent trillions on Covid, as did other countries, that’s why so many are suffering.”
Ms Widdecombe’s comparison of the UK to Germany and France is apt, as the leading EU nations appear set to struggle economically compared to Brexit Britain.
Official figures released on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the British economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, surpassing economists’ expectations of a 0.1 percent decline.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects a positive trajectory for the UK, forecasting a growth rate of 0.7 percent in 2024 and 1.2 percent in 2025.
The outlook positions Britain ahead of economic powerhouses France and Germany, although still trailing behind Spain, Canada, and Australia.
The OECD report read: “Europe is also feeling the demand-reducing effects of policy tightening. The United Kingdom has a similar profile, with growth picking up from 0.3 percent in 2023 to 0.7 percent in 2024 and 1.2 percent in 2025.”
