HAVING never subscribed to the notion that “ignorance is bliss”, it is in some ways difficult not to feel sorry for the Brexiters. Not for those who led the campaign to leave the European Union but for those who were duped by it.

Sadly, many of those who were swayed by the vacuous promises still appear oblivious to the huge economic consequences of Brexit.

At least Chancellor Philip Hammond, while admittedly spinning like a fairground Waltzer on Wednesday as he laughably portrayed a grim Conservative economic record as something to be celebrated, showed some awareness of what he was dealing with in terms of the Brexit effect.

He talked about “heeding the warnings” in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s updated economic forecasts. Having said that, the warnings were difficult to ignore, even if they prompted some pro-Brexit Cabinet ministers and MPs to spit the dummy.

What the OBR did was cut sharply its forecast of cumulative UK growth between 2016 and 2021, by a total 2.4 percentage points.

It now forecasts public sector net borrowing will, over the five fiscal years to March 2021, be £122 billion higher than projected at the time of George Osborne’s final Budget in the spring. Over the five years, total public sector net borrowing is now forecast at £216.3bn, having been predicted at £94.3bn in March ahead of the Brexit vote. This is a dramatic change indeed.

The vote to leave the EU is directly responsible for £58.7bn of this anticipated extra net borrowing, the OBR says. And here is a statistic for the Brexiters - £16bn of this hit is expected to arise from lower migration.

Given the mood of xenophobia which dominated the debate in the run-up to the June 23 referendum, it is good the OBR figures spell out for the Brexiters the very large contribution made to the UK economy by immigrants.

One thing that was rather glossed over by Mr Hammond on Wednesday was that, in spite of all the noise about loosening the shackles of Mr Osborne’s austerity just a little bit, the utter misery that welfare claimants have had to endure will continue and in many cases intensify. This applies both to those without jobs and the working poor.

So much for the Brexit camp’s claim that those coming into power would be championing the interests of the many because the so-called political and business “elites” had been defeated in the EU referendum vote.

The sad fact of the matter is that those on low incomes are going to be even worse off, as already poor economic growth weakens further and they are squeezed by Conservative policies and rising inflation.

And these people, who seem in many cases to have overlooked the fact it is the Conservatives’ grinding austerity that has worsened their circumstances, will have every right to be angry at those who claimed the post-Brexit future would be otherwise.

The claim that those fronting the Brexit camp were in some way less “elite” than the David Cameron administration was a nonsense in any case. In the same way as it is absolutely ridiculous to suggest Donald Trump is any less “elite” than those he was battling in the US Presidential election.

On the subject of Mr Trump and his promised big infrastructure programmes hailed during his campaign as something that would help the lot of ordinary Americans, it is interesting to see Bernie Sanders’ take on the issue.

Mr Sanders contends that Mr Trump’s infrastructure plan “gives massive tax breaks to large companies and billionaires on Wall Street who are already doing phenomenally well”.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s declaration that he will quit the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal should worry ordinary Americans. Free trade tends to be good for growth and prosperity.

Mr Hammond quietly tinkered around the edges. The length of time he talked about saving a country house near Rotherham with £7.6 million of taxpayer funding exemplified his lack of meaningful measures to bolster growth.

Leading economist Danny Blanchflower, a former Monetary Policy Committee member, declared this week that the economic situation in Scotland following the Brexit vote would drive the move towards a second independence referendum, given the Conservative Government has “zero plans” and “no exit strategy”.

The Resolution Foundation think-tank warned yesterday that low and middle-income households would be hit hardest by the UK Government’s decision to press ahead with big welfare cuts, and by the slowing growth and rising inflation.

While many people through no fault of their own continue to heed pro-Brexit Government ministers’ astoundingly upbeat tone on leaving the EU, there are signs the penny is beginning to drop.

A survey this week from Markit, based on Ipsos MORI data, showed UK households are increasingly pessimistic about the long-term economic impact of Brexit. People in Scotland are the most downbeat about the effect, which is not surprising given their overall desire to remain in the EU must have been based largely on a greater recognition of the benefits of membership and an awareness of the folly of leaving.

Among age groups, young people who probably have most to lose from the nonsensical Brexit decision remain most concerned. But there are signs that the grey voters, who voted in large numbers to leave the EU, are increasingly aware grim times lie ahead.

And make no mistake. More big price rises are coming as a result of the surge in import costs arising from the pound’s post-Brexit vote plunge.

While there is still much ignorance, blissful or otherwise, about the consequences of Brexit, the OBR forecasts will have made it clearer for some. And the ignorance will dissipate with time, as reality bites.