THE Bank of England was WRONG about the short-term impact of a Brexit vote - but is sticking by forecasts for a slowdown in the economy in the longer term, according to the top economist at the institution.
In the run-up to the referendum, the central bank warned of a slowdown and said Britain was even at risk of falling into recession if there was a vote to leave the European Union (EU).
Yet a deluge of data has proved these theories were flawed, as the economy continued to boom after the referendum result.
Andy Haldane, the Bank's chief economist and member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), today admitted its models that had predicted the hit had failed.
He today said: "Fair cop, that we'd foreseen a sharper slowdown in the economy than has happened - in common with almost every other mainstream macro forecaster."
Mr Haldane added: "If you look at how the British consumer performed in the course of last year, it's almost as though the referendum had not taken place.
"In terms of many of the real things like pay and jobs, not very much happened during the course of last year, it's pretty much business as usual."
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But the economist is still insistent that the economy is set to slow this year.
He said: "It's possible, indeed I’d say likely, that there will be something of a slowing - nothing inevitable about that, but our best guess is that will be a likely outcome."
Speaking to an audience, Mr Haldane added: "Near-term the data, the evidence we've been accumulating since the referendum, has surprised to the upside, there has been greater resilience, in particular among consumers and the housing market, than we had expected.
"Has that led us to fundamentally change our view on the fortunes of the economy looking forward over the next several years? Not really.
"This is more a question I think of timing, than of a fundamental reassessment of the fortunes of the economy."
The bank chief admitted that economists' records over the past decade has been wrong, helping to fuel mistrust in so-called experts.
Alongside Brexit failings, economists also failed to foresee the 2008 financial crisis.
But Mr Haldane claimed the errors could be a good thing for the future.
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He said: "It's a fair cop to say that the profession is to some degree in crisis, not the first time it's happened. It happened back in the 1930s at the time of the Great Depression- and out of that something good sprang.
"Out of that came Keynes and the north and the birth of modern macroeconomics.
"And out of this crisis could come a rebirth of economics."
The economist also admitted that Britain's recovery from the financial crisis has been slower than the Great Depression of the 1930s - and vastly uneven.
He said: "Only in London and the South East is real GDP per head materially above what it was back then [prior to the financial crash]."
Productivity is a huge issue for Britain's economy, which affects the pay and income prospects of British households, according to Mr Haldane.
He said: "Productivity has under performed during the course of the past few years, on average."
The central banker said the Government must invest in infrastructure as part of an industrial strategy to beat the scourge of Britain's low productivity.
Adult numeracy in Britain is also a huge problem and damaging to productivity, blasted the expert.
He said: "Core numeracy skills of our population are poor… 17million adults in this country have numeracy no better than a primary school child."
http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/750676/Andy-Haldane-Bank-of-England-economist-Brexit-forecast-failings
