Britain near bottom of the heap for growth potential

FILE PHOTO: A man stands outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

LONDON: Britain’s growth potential has fallen behind every large economy except Mexico due to collapsing productivity and severe labour market shortages, according to former Bank of England rate-setter Michael Saunders.

Saunders, who finished his term at the UK central bank in August and is now senior economic adviser at Oxford Economics, said his analysis of 43 country forecasts by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed the UK’s economic “speed limit” will be the second lowest in the group from 2020 to 2024.