The prospect of Brexit is already damaging growth, but Osborne doesn’t care

Has the shadow of Brexit already cost us a slice of GDP — and if so, is it a blip or an omen? The Office for National Statistics says UK growth was 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year, down from 0.6 per cent in last year’s final quarter. And we can’t blame the neighbours, because the eurozone upped its game from 0.3 per cent to a positively breathless 0.6 per cent — with even France trotting in ahead of us at 0.5 per cent.

We still look stronger on the jobs front, mind you, with our unemployment rate, at 5.1 per cent, well down on a year ago and at half the rate for the eurozone. And our service sector continues to perform quite well. But manufacturing showed a decline and construction plunged, with housebuilding at a 38-month low and commercial property deals subdued. International retailers and office tenants were widely reported to be reducing their investment into the UK, or making contingency plans to do so.