A British story that raises hope amid the gloom

Nowadays, there are hazards to looking for signs of hope in the British economy. As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast for 2018 and beyond shows, a cloud of gloom has descended on the United Kingdom.

The primary source of pessimism is, of course, Brexit, and the fear that withdrawing from the European Union will hurt British consumers through higher import prices and weak business investment. And, making matters worse, the British government's independent Office of Budget Responsibility has now lowered its expectations for economic growth, owing to persistently weak productivity performance in the UK.

Against this economic backdrop, British politics is in a state of chaos, with Prime Minister Theresa May seemingly presiding over an increasingly weak government. At this point, the only thing stopping a Conservative Party putsch against May is the fear of losing a fresh election, which would bring a far-left government to power for the first time in many years.