Why has the UK economy defied predictions of doom?

There was talk of a Brexit vote plunging the UK straight into recession, but the economic news is upbeat

First it was manufacturing. Then it was construction. Now the hat-trick of upbeat economic news has been completed by the strongest performance by the services sector in 17 months.

It goes without saying that this is not what the Treasury or the Bank of England expected at the time of the EU referendum last June. At the time, there was talk of the economy plunging straight into recession.

Related: UK services sector grows at fastest pace for more than a year