Britain’s trade deficit will be a useful Brexit bargaining chip

Britain’s trade deficit – the difference between what we import and export – widened in the run-up to Brexit. Figures out today show that we imported £5.1bn more goods than we exported to the rest of the world. That gap widened by nearly £1bn between May and June, according to the ONS, in a picture which the Guardian have said is pretty ‘ugly’. But there is a flip side. Firstly, these figures don’t reflect anything about the referendum – they were compiled in the build-up to the June vote, so they tell us little about the impact of Brexit. Secondly, it’s worth mentioning that whilst the deficit has, indeed, got bigger, Britain’s exports also jumped in June by a billion pounds. That fact alone is worth celebrating. What’s more, a weaker pound will help narrow the deficit by making our goods cheaper to foreign buyers – which should increase exports over the coming months.

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Matthew Lynn

Spain will regret its 100 per cent expat property tax

In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, as Britain decides what its trading relationship with the rest of the world will look like, there’s another, positive way of looking at these figures.