Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, has left EU Rejoiners in shock after he told a magazine that Brexit has given the UK opportunities.
In an even more surprising move, Bailey, who was a Remainer, admitted that the Project Fear “dire warnings” about Brexit which the Bank of England and other institutions made during the referendum were wrong.
The interview was given to pro-EU magazine Prospect which has opposed Brexit and carried articles making the case for Rejoining the bloc.
Bailey has become the latest top figure to have to conceded that Brexit is proving to be a success despite attempts to claim otherwise.
His comments follow, Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation telling the BBC how Brexit has brought in thousands of extra jobs and massive investment into the UK.
Mr Bailey said: “I think the post-Brexit landscape does give us opportunities.”
He then went on to admit that EU regulations did not suit the UK.
“You know, I’ve always said, not everything about EU regulation was best-suited to any national circumstances."
And he admitted that claims made during the negotiations after the referendum - about the UK economy crashing because of Brexit and people being poorer as a result - were all wrong.
He said: "If you go back to the period after the referendum, there were pretty dire predictions about the consequences of Brexit for the financial services world, for the City of London. And I think so far those effects have been smaller.”
The words of the Governor will be taken as a warning to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who has made it clear that his plan is to tie Britain to EU rules and regulations if he wins power next year.
The Governor’s position, though, is a stark change in the language by the Bank of England which played a significant role in Project Fear on the referendum with institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Treasury when it was led by former Chancellor George Osborne.
Former Governor Mark Carney joined Mr Osborne in predicting a flight of money from the UK and each household being thousands of pounds worse off as a result of Brexit.
Even last year economist Roger Bootle criticised the Bank of England for claiming that the UK would go into recession this year because of Brexit.
Unlike Germany and France, Britain has not gone into recession.
