Britain becoming the sickman of Europe again?

 In the early 1970's and before the UK joined the EU, or EC as it was called then, Britain was described as the sick man of Europe,. Productivity was low, inflation was high, the economy was stagnating, the pound was in danger. Now, if we are not careful we could be returning to those bad times which I remember so well.

https://www.ft.com/content/508dee91-f42f-4662-892c-bb7219f02401

Things improved economically when the we joined the EC/EU in 1973 and that is why the nation voted to stay in the EC/EU in a referendum held in 1975. However, Britain did not fully capitalise on its membership, so productivity and competitiveness lagged behind the likes of the rest of the EC/EU, the USA and Canada etc. This remains the case today, when global economic winds blow cold Britain is the first to freeze and remains frozen longer than our competitors. It is now becoming increasingly more expensive for the UK to borrow from financial markets to fund an economic recovery and our schools and the NHS.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62zpregm2mo

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/08/why-rising-bond-yields-are-rattling-rachel-reeves

Some bold action is now required to set the economy straight and provide for the future:

The government needs to level with the British people and admit that leaving the EU was a mistake , the country is floating around aimlessly and needs a strategic plan and an economic goal.

Economic ministers need to stop thinking like glorified bookkeepers to prevent the treasury and business ministers from planning the use of the nation's money and investment potential to improve productivity and competitiveness. There is no problem in borrowing money to invest in useful and productive projects.

The nation is ready for this; a majority of the population now agree that it was a mistake to leave the European Single Market and Customs Union,so we should publicly state our intention to re-join , but without a divisive referendum.

https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/47997-britons-support-rejoining-the-single-market-even-if-it-means-free-movement

Leaving the EU damaged our economy and it also damaged the economy of the EU. To re-join the economic wings of the EU will improve matters for everyone concerned, we do not need to re-join the political wing of the EU: yet.

Let us see a sense of adventure and boldness from our political leadership, we cannot carry on as we are now: however, I fear that we will and to our detriment.