London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Brexit adding to cost-of-living crisis, Mark Carney says

Brexit adding to cost-of-living crisis, Mark Carney says

Brexit has added to the UK's economic woes by lowering the value of the pound and contributing to price rises, an ex-Bank of England governor has said.

Mark Carney told the BBC the fall in the pound and shrinking economy after the UK left the EU had added to "inflationary pressure".

No 10 says soaring prices are being driven by Covid and the Ukraine war.

On Thursday, the Bank warned the UK was facing its longest recession since records began.

In an attempt to cool rising prices it raised interest rates from 2.25% to 3% - the biggest jump since 1989.

A recession is defined as when a country's economy shrinks for two three-month periods - or quarters - in a row.

Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is at the highest level for 40 years.

The invasion of Ukraine has driven up the price of food and energy, as supplies are disrupted by the war and the West tries to phase out Russian oil and gas.

However, Mr Carney, who was governor of the Bank of England between 2013 and 2020, said Brexit was also helping to fuel inflation and had "slowed the pace at which the economy can grow".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the pound had fallen "sharply" against other currencies after the Brexit referendum in 2016 and "hasn't recovered".

"If I can actually cast your mind back to a few years ago, this is what we said was going to happen, which is that the exchange rate would go down, it would stay down, that would add to inflationary pressure," he said.

"The economy's capacity would go down for a period of time because of Brexit, that would add to inflationary pressure, and we would have a situation - which is the situation we have today - where the Bank of England has to raise interest rates despite the fact that the economy is going into recession."

He added that the UK had experienced "a big hit to our productivity" and "we have to take some tough decisions in order to get it back up".


But Downing Street blamed the impact of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine for the problems in the UK economy.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "What we are seeing is challenges caused by the pandemic and by war in Europe which have been driving factors in terms of inflation, and we're seeing high inflation in a number of countries around the world."

Asked if he was denying Brexit had caused financial issues, he said: "Our focus is on ensuring we have stability and fiscal credibility. That's what the chancellor and the prime minister are focused on rather than on a decision taken a number of years ago where people made a clear decision."

A fall in the value of the pound makes goods and services which are imported from overseas more expensive, while making exports more competitive.

In September the pound fell to a record low against the dollar, after then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced sweeping tax cuts without saying how they would be paid for.

It has since recovered to the level it was at before the so-called mini-budget, after new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reversed almost all the planned tax cuts.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×