Image Stephen Finn/shutterstock.com
A lot of dire warnings were issued during the Referendum campaign, and before. We’ve started keeping track of what happened…
Sunderland: still there
“Japan’s Nissan Motor has issued its bluntest warning yet that Britain must commit itself to joining the euro or lose further investment in its Sunderland plant.” (London Evening Standard, 2003).
“Nissan set to build new SUVs at their Sunderland car plant in post-Brexit boost.” (The Sun, 21 October 2016)
The City: still there, too
“If Brexit happens, transactions for firms across the EU in euro-denominated assets – a large and important part of the City's operations - would move to the eurozone…” (French “expert” quoted on BBC Online, 21 June 2016)
“The Dutch bank ING is moving several dozen trading jobs into London as part of an overhaul of its European offices, saying that the capital remains a hub for financial trading in spite of the UK's vote to leave the European Union. The Netherlands’ biggest financial firm said currency, derivatives and interest rate traders will move from Brussels to London…” (Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2016.)
Oh dear – the IMF got it wrong again
“[Brexit] could entail sharp drops in equity and house prices, increased borrowing costs for households and businesses, and even a sudden stop of investment inflows into key sectors such as commercial real estate and finance...” (IMF mission to UK, concluding statement, 13 May 2016)
"During the referendum campaign, someone said the real danger of Brexit is you'll end up with higher interest rates, lower house prices and a lower exchange rate, and I thought: dream on. Because that’s what we've been trying to achieve for the past three years and now we have a chance of getting it.” (Lord King, former Governor of the Bank of England, speaking to Sky News, 11 October 2016.)