Bosses are right: political uncertainty will damage the economy | Nils Pratley

Predictions of gloom after the Brexit vote didn't materialise - but this time we face an income squeeze and an EU ticking clock

"It is hard to overstate what a dramatic impact the current political uncertainty has on business leaders, and the consequences could - if not addressed immediately - be disastrous for the UK economy," says Stephen Martin, director general of the Institute of Directors, pointing to a poll of members that showed 57% were quite or very pessimistic about the economy over the next 12 months.

We heard similar predictions of gloom from the business world after last year's referendum, of course. They did not materialise, or at least not in the style imagined. The Brexit flunk was a brief affair and the Bank of England and almost every other forecaster was obliged to admit that Armageddon would not be arriving as previously advertised. Could the plot run so happily again?

Related: Bad EU trade deal 'disastrous' for UK jobs, investment and growth