Food bills could rise by 10% thanks to Brexit chaos, Mark Carney claims
The price of a shopping basket could spike if we crash out without a deal, the Bank of England governor has speculated
Foods bills could surge by up to 10 per cent if the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal, claims controversial Bank of England boss Mark Carney.
The latest shock warning from Mr Carney follows his other dire predictions on the potential aftermath of no deal Brexit - including a 30 per cent drop in house prices.causing more misery for Brits.
The central bank governor was sharply criticised for the doomsday scenarios, published last week.
Yesterday, Mr Carney told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee that food prices could soar “quite quickly” post Brexit - if there is a sharp fall in the value of the pound and tariff prices increase.
In the most drastic no-deal scenario, he said shopping bills could rise by up to 10 per cent.
He said yesterday: “In the most extreme scenario, on average your shopping bill goes up by 10 per cent because we have a 25 per cent depreciation [in the pound].
“If you go to a more orderly scenario transition, it’s something in the range of 6 per cent,” he said, adding: “For individual food products it’s going to vary.”
The UK imports about half of its food from overseas.
Mr Carney also defended last week’s apocalyptic Brexit forecasts, saying some of the criticisms were “unfair”.
The BoE was accused of putting forward “highly speculative” and “extreme” scenarios in order to help the government win support for its Brexit deal.
It said that a disorderly exit from the EU could trigger the worst recession since the second world war.
But Mr Carney said that the Bank was only fulfilling its responsibilities - and told the MPs that it had held back the details of its dire no-deal scenario for as long as possible rather than employing scare tactics.
And he warned MPs that Britain’s vital financial sector could be undermined if they reject the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal and instead push for the UK to adopt a Norway-style settlement.
The stability of the economy could be at risk because Britain would have to implement the EU’s rules without a say on their design.back another referendum on Brexit either.
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