Pakistan, Jan. 21 -- Britain's economy is on course to grow by less than 1% in 2019. Last week's retail sales figures for December, which showed the longest period of zero growth for more than 20 years, are likely to drag down GDP growth in the last quarter, limiting the annual growth rate to 0.8% or 0.9% at best.
In 2020, the economy's expansion may not be much better given all the uncertainty surrounding the government's negotiating stance with the EU following Brexit. Few people inside Whitehall or even the cabinet know which industries will be sacrificed to achieve a quick and dirty trade deal. And while that situation persists business investment will remain low and the manufacturing sector will stumble along, possibly in recession as...