I was living in the UK at a time. Nobody worth listening to was predicting war or famine.

So you agree that there was a large amount of hyperbole which was intended to create fear but not constructed in good faith?

that’s what I would conclude from “it exists but wasn’t taken seriously”

No.

I randomly sampled a few articles. And I think you’re right and I’m wrong. The economic messaging is aggressive and was wrong, but I’m not seeing famine and war.

Here is an article that sampled various expert opinions:

“ This event will unleash the kind of uncertainty that Keynes had in mind when he said “we simply do not know” when referring to the likely effect of war. Such uncertainty can only be disruptive for financial markets. We will enter a new era of volatility that is likely to last until these difficult negotiations are completed.”

“it is more likely than not that we will witness political instability.”

“ Such market reactions could sharply contract economic activity, further depressing asset prices in a self-reinforcing cycle”

https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/brexit-potential-financial-ca...

So I agree, the more extreme must have been amplified voices from the fringe, on places like Reddit.

>“it is more likely than not that we will witness political instability.”

We have had 5 Prime Ministers since 2019.

Some of the problems we are seeing are due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But Brexit is the biggest factor by far. And 100% self-inflicted. It is the elephant in the room that the politicians can't even talk about it, as it's electoral poison.