AMID the Brexit chaos and gloom, the Scottish economy’s performance remains bright.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s latest survey shows private sector growth north of the Border overtook that in the UK as a whole again in October. New business growth, a forward-looking indicator, was faster in Scotland than in any other nation or region of the UK. Scotland’s growth has been faster than that in the UK as a whole for three of the last four months.

Read More: Economic growth in Scotland faster than in UK as a whole

The economic performance of Scotland in recent times is worthy of celebration. It follows a protracted difficult period during which the economy was dragged down by the impact of the global oil and gas downturn on the North Sea. Tough times in the North Sea weighed for a long time not just on the north-east but on the broader Scottish economy.

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With oil prices having staged a decent recovery, there has been a steady flow of better news on North Sea activity. Better times for the North Sea will be supporting the Scottish economy’s relatively strong performance. This is all good.

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In normal times, many Scottish companies could now breathe a sigh of relief. These are not normal times, with Brexit casting a long shadow and businesses dismayed at the lack of clarity over what on earth is going on as the UK Government proceeds with a course of action that will do much economic harm.

Royal Bank chief economist Sebastian Burnside expressed increasing concern over a lack of business investment. And Scottish businesses’ optimism about future activity has fallen to its lowest for a year.

Sadly, these effects are inevitable consequences of the UK’s Brexit folly.