UK can be EU’s biggest economy by 2035, says Clegg

The UK can overtake Germany to become Europe’s economic “powerhouse” by 2035, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said yesterday.

The UK could catch up and overtake the French economy within “a few short years” before setting its sights on Germany, the Liberal Democrat leader said as he set out his party’s five-point plan to spur growth faster than the eurozone’s biggest economies.

“We can leapfrog France and Germany to become the biggest economy in Europe within a generation. That is hugely ambitious, but also absolutely possible,” Mr Clegg said in a speech at a Siemens technology exhibit in east London.