UK economy at risk of another crisis, warns think tank

THE competitiveness of the UK economy has been in long-term decline with a high risk of another financial and economic crisis, a Scottish think tank has warned.

Picture: PA

The report, “The Mismanagement of Britain”, was published today to inform a debate on Scottish independence, by the Jimmy Reid Foundation - a left wing think tank.

There has been a “fundamental weakness” at the heart of the UK economy with an increasing deficit in the nation’s trading account in general goods and services, the report said.

Report author Jim Cuthbert, a leading economist, said that the findings had “profound implications” for the independence referendum in 2014 and suggested that the report boosted the case for a Yes vote.

He said: “The referendum debate should address the implications of the poor management, and instability, of the UK economy.”

The report went onto claim that the government’s of Margaret Thatcher shrank the UK’s industry and damaged the economy.