London will thrive outside EU as UK will be financial leader for next decade

Budget will focus on shoring up British economy

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Despite warnings from a good deal of politicians, journalists and international organisations that Britain’s economy would collapse after leaving the EU, confidence in the state of the country’s finances remains high. The majority of HNWIs believe London will guide the country into a bright decade of relative success.

The results of a survey of over 1,000 people in the UK with investable assets of over £250,000, published today, are encouraging.

Some 80 percent of respondents said they feel confident about the future of Britain’s economy, while an impressive 33 percent feel “very confident”.

And 68 percent said London will continue to top all over European cities over the next 10 years.

This figure rises to 75 percent among HNWIs actually living in London.

High levels of confidence in the state of Britain’s economy are perhaps most surprising given the financial damage inflicted by lockdowns.

The Government’s response to Covid has seen public debt increase to around 95.5 percent of GDP.

This is the highest level since 1963, when it was coming down following the spike caused by World War 2.

Public borrowing also remains high as the costs of lockdowns, and the pandemic more generally, continue to land on the Chancellor’s desk.

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that public sector borrowing came in at about £21.8billion last month.

But in a slight boost to Rishi Sunak, ahead of his budget speech today, this figure was £4.1billion lower than was predicted by the UK’s fiscal watchdog in March.

It was also £7billion less than the amount borrowed in September 2020.

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The recovery – however slow – from the Government’s pandemic spending, coupled with high confidence in Britain’s economic capabilities, acts as a good backdrop for the budget speech.

Mr Sunak will focus on aspects of the post-pandemic rebuilding and will offer a number of boosts for workers.

These are expected to include a rise of the national living wage, millions of pounds given in family support and more funding for special needs schools.

Speaking to Times Radio at the weekend, Mr Sunak said he has focused on “protecting people’s livelihoods” – and, of course, their incomes.

He plans to put more investment into “infrastructure, innovation and skills” to help give “businesses confidence”.

If his speech hits the right tone, confidence in the economic outlook of the country may well increase further when HNWIs are next surveyed.

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