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UK wages climbed at their fastest rate in three years in March but productivity slipped back into negative territory, dampening hopes that two straight quarters of growth last year had marked a long-awaited recovery in output per hour.
Wage growth excluding bonuses nudged up to 2.9pc while 197,000 jobs were added to the British economy in the three months to March, the most since 2015.
Also unemployment at 4.2%, the lowest in 40 years.
This shows that the economy is robust enough to negotiate from a position of strength in the ongoing Brexit talks. While I'd love to see the government make free trade deals with countries all over the world and end freedom of movement from the EU in the process, the lack of progress in talks so far and the required timescale of 15 months make it a fantasy. A customs arrangement would be much preferred. That being said, we should be contingency planning for a 'no deal' scenario, which would involve cutting corporation tax to 12% or less, loosening regulations and significant government investment in key industries.