If Britain wants to avoid a recession, it must not give in to the fear tactics of “Project Fear 2.0,” experts say today.
The nation is dealing with skyrocketing energy costs, a protracted drought, sewage pouring into rivers and the ocean, and lengthy lines for tourists at the border.
The UK’s alleged impending collapse, according to John Longworth, the former chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce, has been vastly exaggerated by doomsday prophets trying to establish Brexit’s guilt.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, he said that the nation was now seeing “a revival of Project Fear,” the 2016 EU referendum campaign designed to terrify voters into choosing to stay in the EU.
The businessman also issued a stern warning, claiming that if people kept feeling down due to “endless gloom,” the country will talk itself into a recession.
“It is obvious to me that a covert cabal of wealthy campaigners is assembling once again,” the author writes.
He said, “I call it Project Fear 2.0. There is no denying the serious problems our nation is facing. But the European Union or Brexit have nothing to do with sewage in rivers.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, concurred last night. We have a core of individuals who have devoted themselves to bringing us back into the EU because they never wanted us to leave, he continued.
Despite being a tiny minority, they have a lot of influence and are overrepresented in the media and the Establishment. When anything goes wrong, they always attribute it on the EU exit.
They have driver shortages, energy issues, and high inflation – our inflation rate is by no means the greatest in Europe. However, what they are going through in the EU is very seldom covered in the media.
Their worries were echoed earlier this month by Liz Truss, the front-runner for the Conservative leadership, who charged Rishi Sunak of spreading fear tactics while disparaging her economic policies.
She said indignantly, “This is scaremongering, this is Project Fear,” during a TV discussion.
The proponent of financial responsibility Martin Lewis has also been accused of being the most pessimistic after calling the situation “absolutely horrible” and saying: “There is dismay and sadness and there are individuals concerned about being able to feed their children.”
However, the Foreign Secretary downplayed Bank of England forecasts that the nation would experience another devastating credit crisis that would last more than a year.
The bank raised interest rates to 1.75 percent earlier this month, its highest level in 27 years, warning that inflation would climb to 13%.
What the Bank of England stated today is indeed quite alarming, but it is not inescapable, Miss Truss said. The result may be altered.
According to some predictions, inflation will reach 18%, and on Friday, the energy regulator Ofgem raised the energy price ceiling, causing monthly bills to soar from £1,971 to £3,549.
Up and down the nation, drought has been declared, raising major worries about issues with agricultural production.
Despite water providers’ inability to fix the leaks that cause billions of litres of water to be lost annually, hosepipe restrictions have been implemented in a number of locations.
Since a sudden downpour of heavy rain caused sewage to be released into rivers and the sea, dozens of beaches in England and Wales have been subject to pollution alerts.
Environment Secretary George Eustice attributed the spills to “a legacy of the Victorian sewage system” on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday morning. The Conservative Government, he asserted, was the first to “really handle this issue.”
Meanwhile, over the summer vacation, there have been significant delays for travellers at airports and on the roadways, which many have quickly linked to Brexit.
According to Sir Iain, France and the UK have long disagreed about port delays.
The biggest threat the nation faces, according to Mr. Longworth, who is now the chairman of the Independent Business Network, is talking itself into a recession.
The merchants of doom might still make a self-fulfilling prophesy for us all, he said, adding that “crying wolf in this fashion has horrible real-life implications.”
He reiterated his support for Miss Truss to succeed David Cameron as the future leader of the Conservative Party and claimed her ideas for tax cuts, rolling back the increase in National Insurance, and putting a freeze on green levies on energy bills will all boost the country’s economy.
Britain would soon have one of the strongest economies in the world, he said. Unemployment may still be avoided.
“Britain’s future is promising.” Don’t let the doubters get you down.