British economic policymakers confront big challenges. They have to manage departure from the EU with the minimum damage. They also need to make the UK economy far more dynamic. The latter cannot be achieved if they do not abandon the myth that

The International Monetary Fund has predicted the UK will be the fastest growing of the G7 leading industrial countries this year and accepted that its prediction of a post-Brexit-vote financial crash has proved to be overly pessimistic. But while the Washington-based IMF said Britain would have a “soft landing” in 2016 with growth of 1.8%, it stuck to its view that the economy would eventually suffer from the shock EU referendum result and said expansion next year would be just 1.1% – lower than it expected in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Fears of the consequences of a Hard Brexit have sent the pound tumbling to a new 31-year low against the dollar. Speaking at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham on Sunday, Theresa May has ended weeks of speculation and revealed that she will launch formal Brexit talks with EU leaders before the end of March 2017. The timing means the UK looks set to leave the EU by summer 2019.

UKIP leadership hopeful Steven Woolfe says he is recovering in hospital after a reported fight at a meeting of the party's MEPs. The party released a statement from Mr Woolfe from his Strasbourg hospital bed saying he was sitting up having undergone a precautionary brain scan. UKIP sources said "punches were exchanged" during the row at a party meeting and Mr Woolfe banged his head. He was taken to hospital two hours later after collapsing, sources said.

Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent claims the weakening value of the pound is aiding Britain's economic growth. At a speech in London hosted by the Wall Street Journal, Broadbent said sterling's depreciation had 'supported the economy' by stimulating investment activity. The Bank policymaker said there was 'little doubt' the country's economy had fared better than many analyst surveys expected after June's Brexit vote.

The UK's vote to leave the European Union has made the chance of a Eurozone collapse five times more likely, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said.

Britain wanted to create a formal task force to work with Norway on a post-Brexit free trade agreement, but the Norwegian rejected the overture according to a new report. Business daily Dagens Næringsliv reported that the UK’s international trade secretary, Liam Fox, lobbied his Norwegian counterpart, Minister of Trade and Industry Monica Mæland, for Norway to join the United Kingdom in establishing a task force to prepare a new trade agreement for when the Brits formally leave the EU.

A senior Irish MEP has suggested Northern Ireland should be given “associate membership” of the European Union after Brexit, with the Irish State paying its annual funding contribution. Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes last night said such an arrangement would allow Northern Ireland the right to trade on full or limited terms into the EU, and not be subject to the tariffs. He said while the Constitutional position of the North was settled and it would remain part of the United Kingdom, he said its trading relationship with the EU and with Ireland could be different.

JEREMY Corbyn cannot take part in a parliamentary Brexit debate because of his asthma, a note from his mother has confirmed. Following the prime minister’s U-turn over a Brexit strategy debate, Corbyn’s office hand-delivered the note which excuses the Labour leader and suggests he could go to the Commons library and read instead. Speaker John Bercow said: “It’s not just Brexit. She’s also excused Jeremy from anything involving Russia, detailed discussion of budgeting apparently sets off his migraine, and of course he can’t be there when competitive sports comes up, not after last time.

Theresa May has rejected the SNP’s claim that Brexit justifies staging another independence referendum as she was warned that her “days as Prime Minister of a United Kingdom are numbered" if Scotland’s remain vote is ignored. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Nicola Sturgeon should stick to her pledge that the 2014 referendum was a “once-in-a-generation” vote and urged her to respect Scots’ decision.

Although the spin-doctors hate headlines and about “split” and insist on "unity", it is actually good to have disagreements between senior politicians and especially ministers. Debate and even dispute almost always leads to better policy, because ideas are fully tested and examined. So it is, in principle, a good thing that there is dispute in the Cabinet about what form Brexit should take. It is right and proper and in the interests of the nation as a whole that ministers test all the options, examine all the ideas with the harshest of critical gazes.

It has become a commonplace: The notion that many people who voted "Leave" in the EU referendum now regret their vote because they didn't think "Leave" would win or they didn't realise the consequences of leaving the Single Market would be so bad. If you search for "Brexit I didn't think it would happen" you get dozens of stories about hapless voters who thought they were merely casting a protest vote, not fundamentally altering the economic and constitutional basis of the entire country.

Theresa May has pledged to continue to "work closely" with the EU after Brexit, as she arrived for her first Brussels summit as prime minister. She said it was important to have a "united European stance" against "Russian aggression", including "sickening" violence in Syria. The PM is expected to call for a "smooth, constructive, orderly" Brexit. The European Council president likened the summit to a "nest of doves", adding Mrs May would be "absolutely safe".

A "Stop Brexit" party would beat Labour and Ukip if a general election were held tomorrow, a new survey has suggested. The YouGov poll of more than 4,500 adults in England and Wales found 50 per cent of people who opted for Remain during the EU referendum would vote for a new pro-EU membership party if given the choice. A further 3.9 per cent of people who voted Leave said they would support the anti-Brexit party.

Fears of a post-EU referendum recession in the second half of the year are expected to be proved unfounded by figures released this week. However, in the first official verdict on how the economy has performed since the Brexit vote, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to say growth more than halved from 0.7% in the second quarter to 0.3% between July and September. If the economists polled by Reuters are correct, it would be the slowest rate of growth since the third quarter of 2015...

Something very nasty is happening. A group of people, the most exploited within our society, are under attack. Their marginalisation has been going on for years. But it has accelerated disturbingly since 23 June. Few among the political class really understand them. These people live in modest homes in the grittier parts of the country. They work in factories, call centres and on building sites, often for low wages. They like football and watch Coronation Street. They sometimes hold old-fashioned views around things such as religion, family and nationhood. Some of them drive white vans.

The difference between leave and remain was 3.8 percent or 1.3 million in favour of Leave. However, in a close analysis, virtually all the polls show that the UK electorate wants to remain in the EU, and has wanted to remain since referendum day. Moreover, according to predicted demographics, the UK will want to remain in the EU for the foreseeable future.

London property prices are set to fall next year as uncertainty about Britain’s exit from the European Union damps the U.K. housing market, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. London, and especially the priciest areas of the capital’s housing market, will be most affected, with prices dropping 5.6 percent in 2017, according to the consultancy’s predictions. Across the U.K., while property value growth will accelerate to 6.9 percent in 2016, it’s set to slow to 2.6 percent next year.

Wages for average UK workers are less than they were 12 years ago shocking official figures revealed today. The gender pay gap also remains stubbornly high, data from the Office of National Statistics showed. The median full-time worker is now paid £539 per week (£28,028 a year), less than the £555 per week they earned in 2004, after taking inflation into account. Despite a 1.9 per cent salary increase this year, annual average earnigs in 2016 are still around £1,600 less than their 2009 peak.

Two out of five EU citizens living in the UK have concerns over job security with Brexit on the horizon, with particular concern felt by those in the construction, manufacturing, retail and hospitality sectors, a survey of FT readers has found.