Its cold outside...
Brexit and Covid have combined to hit the UK economy very hard, it is currently recovering but not as well as hoped and is going to take a permanent hit from Covid of between 1.5% and 3%. That is a very large recession and on top of that long term growth prospects for the UK will be much lower because of Brexit.
That means even the tax rises that the government has put onto firms and families won’t be enough to pay for health and social care let alone anything else. On top of all that China looks like its long run of very high growth is not as permanent as hoped.
It has massive imbalances that government has allowed to get very dangerously out of control. Every firm is basically backed to a greater or lesser extent by the state. This cannot last and even the Chinese government cannot bailout the whole economy.
If China crashes or even slows down dramatically the results will be huge and very damaging. The UK which has cut its own throat as regards trade with the EU will be especially vulnerable.
It is a cold, hard world and the UK has very few friends left. It won’t win any back by blaming foreigners for all its ills, populist policies are nearly always stupid ones.
But that is where the UK finds itself, weaker, poorer and lonelier.
PS Went to another pub Sunday which is not serving any food, can’t find chefs for love nor money. Another business that is smaller, less profitable and paying less tax. Another Brexit triumph.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.