Speaking on a panel at the Cliveden Literary Festival, the health secretary <\/a>said the country is facing an \u201cenormous amount of jeopardy\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had over a decade of low productivity, low growth, and therefore you end up a with high burden of taxation and people paying more through their taxes, and feeling they are getting less, because they are,\u201d Mr Streeting said. <\/p>\n Asked how much he thinks Brexit is to blame for these problems, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s part of it. There\u2019s no doubt that that\u2019s the other problem we\u2019re dealing with. I\u2019m glad that Brexit is a problem whose name we now dare speak.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes after sources told The Times that the prime minister will blame Nigel Farage <\/a>and Brexit for Britain\u2019s expected downturn in productivity at the November Budget, as part of a new attack on the Reform UK leader.<\/p>\n Treasury officials are bracing for the Office for Budget Responsibility<\/a> (OBR) to lower its forecasts for productivity growth \u2013<\/a> a downgrade that is likely to create an extra shortfall of around \u00a320bn. <\/a>The shortfall is expected to be filled by a swathe of tax rises.<\/p>\n Sir Keir<\/a> and chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> are reportedly planning to argue that this downgrade would not have happened were it not for Brexit<\/a>, pinning the blame on the Reform leader for leading the campaign to take Britain out of the EU.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Health secretary Wes Streeting says there has not been a big enough debate about the economic problems caused by Brexit (PA)<\/p>\n While the health secretary said he has \u201cenormous respect\u201d for people who voted to leave the EU, he said there had not been a big enough debate about the economic problems it has caused. <\/p>\n \u201cThis has been my frustration about it … We were warned it was going to have an economic impact, and it has. And it\u2019s hit our country hard, so we\u2019re having to deal with Brexit,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re having to deal with the structural problems in the British economy, and we are doing that by creating stability and the conditions in which people can invest confidently in our country \u2013 recognising that governments don\u2019t create growth, but we can help to create the conditions for businesses to grow and thrive, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Health](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a714b96c5581db5054d89a4a3b814704Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzYwMjIwNzg4-2.81816798.jpg\")
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