IN the Brexiters’ world, the good times are indeed rolling for Mighty Blighty.

On Planet Brexit, the economic indicators are interpreted very differently indeed from the conventional way. And they are thus seized upon with truly joyous jingoism.

Organs sympathetic to the cause of the Brexiters publish stories about the UK services sector having, in August, enjoyed its best month in at least 20 years. And there are articles about how the UK manufacturing sector has recorded its joint-best monthly performance in a quarter of a century.

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To anyone with even a basic grasp of economics, and probably to many, many others with some common sense, these stories might well seem to emanate from a parallel universe. Sadly, though, while you could be forgiven for hiding behind the settee when the Brexiters and those implementing their wishes appear on television with complete confidence and absolutely no coherent plan, we are not observing a fictional parallel universe of the type featured in Doctor Who.

It is, in fact, all part of the most exasperating world in which we find ourselves following the UK electorate’s June 23 Brexit vote. What a world!

However, the fact the flag-waving, pro-Brexit economic stories are not being written in a parallel universe does not mean they get any closer to reflecting the economic situation in the real world.

What the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply’s latest UK services survey actually showed was that the sector achieved its best growth for three months in August. It was certainly not the best month for at least 20 years in this regard.

For the avoidance of doubt, CIPS declared: “The overall rate of expansion in the latest month was weaker than the long-run survey average.”

The confusion seems to have arisen because the business activity index for services showed its biggest rise in the 20-year history of the survey last month.

This, it is crucial to recognise, followed a record drop in July. More importantly, it is the level of the index, not the movement in it, which is the measure of expansion or contraction.

So, while there was a record 4.9-point fall in the index to 47.4 in July, the rate of contraction was not the worst for at least 20 years but since the depths of the last recession in March 2009. As falls go, that is still pretty bad.

In terms of the UK manufacturing sector, activity growth in August was the fastest for 10 months, and absolutely nothing like the joint-strongest in a quarter-century. And this expansion followed the sharpest drop in manufacturing activity since February 2013 in July.

Overall, CIPS’s composite output measure for the UK services, manufacturing, and construction sectors signals the economy stagnated in the two months after the Brexit vote. This is much worse than the already below-trend growth of 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, a period which largely preceded the June 23 Brexit vote.

Already unimpressive growth grinding to a shuddering halt, not to mention the looming spectre of recession amid the shambles, is surely more than just cause for the Brexiters to tone down their jingoism.

Former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charles Bean put it well when he offered his wisdom to a House of Lords committee on Wednesday.

While noting it was “too early to draw a firm conclusion”, he declared: “Some of the recent indicators have been greeted a little too enthusiastically…The underlying picture at the moment does not suggest the economy has just shrugged off the Brexit result.”

For those of us interested in the underlying picture, it is worth noting the emergency and remedial action taken since the Brexit vote.

A new £500 million package of financial support for private sector business investment in Scotland has been announced this week by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as part of plans to support economic growth in her Programme for Government.

The Scottish Government noted the private sector “is facing increased uncertainty as a result of Brexit”. Under the three-year scheme, individual investment guarantees, and some loans, of up to £5 million will be available to small and medium-sized firms that, the Scottish Government says, would “otherwise be unable to grow because of a lack of investment finance”.

While the Scottish Government has limited powers, at least it is trying to do something constructive. At Westminster, the post-Brexit vote shambles shows no signs of letting up. You almost feel sorry for our long-suffering European Union partners, who look at the moment as if they are going to have to negotiate with a UK Government with either a non-existent or at best half-baked strategy.

The Bank of England last month cut UK base rates by a quarter-point to a fresh record low of 0.25 per cent, as part of a package of emergency measures aimed at aiding the economy amid fears of recession following the Brexit vote.

Since then, we have had those CIPS surveys of August manufacturing and services activity that received such fascinating interpretation.

So it was interesting to see a poll published on Tuesday by Reuters confirming UK economists still believe the Bank will cut base rates to a fresh record low of 0.1 per cent in November. And Bank deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe said on Wednesday he expected to vote for another cut in rates this year if the economy evolved as the central bank expected.

The Brexiters might want to ask themselves why they think emergency action is having to be taken following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. It is presumably not because the economy is enjoying its best spell for at least two decades, or a quarter-century, or whatever. Is it?