Carney delivers a long answer to a..............>

BOE: Carney delivers a long answer to a straightforward question...

Q: In annual assessment, growth forecasts have been cut. Does that UK is a

weaker economy now than before the EU referendum? How much is down to Brexit?

A: We and others have been disappointed with productivity growth - initially due

to financial distress and GFC, but that is now in rearview mirror. We have to

recognise in period since referendum, business investment has been VERY weak.

That accumulates over time. On top of that, businesses over course of past year

(due to cliff edges) a lot of businesses have had to undertake contingency

planning, spending less time on business expansion. We are moving more rapidly

than expected into the EU transition phase and this time next year we'll be in

"deep freetrade agreement" with EU and there will be costs to this. One point to

make - rate of potential growth not just about productivity but also supply of

labour. A lot more people have stayed in labour force (not necessarily positive)

and this means unemployment is low, which limits 'speed limit' of the economy.