Self-styled experts who predicted the UK economy would suffer if the nation backed Brexit now have egg on their face, Michael Gove has claimed.
Mr Gove, a prominent member of the Leave campaign, famously declared in the run up to June 23 that people had "had enough of experts".
And the Tory former frontbencher told MPs on Monday the latest statistics on the state of the economy show that people who voted for the UK to leave the European Union "know a darn sight more about economics" than the "soi-disant experts" who issued warnings ahead of the vote.
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Speaking from the backbenches during a statement on Brexit delivered by David Davis, Mr Gove said: "In the seven short weeks since you have been in office alongside our new Foreign Secretary and our new Secretary of State for International Trade we have seen a record increase in service industries growth, a record increase in manufacturing industry growth, a 3.3% increase in motor car sales.
"We have also seen the speaker of the US Congress, the prime minister of Australia and the prime minister of New Zealand all pressing for free trade deals with this country while the deputy chancellor of Germany has acknowledged that the EU/US trade deal is dead in the water.
"Does that not confirm that the 17 million people who voted to leave the European Union in this country know a darn sight more about economics than the members of the IMF, the OECD, the IFS and all these other soi-disant experts who have oeuf on their face?"
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Mr Davis replied: "You are not known for understating your case but I would point out it was 17 and a half million people that made that judgment and he is right.
"Much of the gloom and doom, the fear-mongering, that went on before the referendum has been proven to be wrong.
"That being said I would not be quite so unalloyed optimistic as you are because of course we are in a world in which there are a lot of economic pressures going on."
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Speaker John Bercow described Mr Gove as a "most exotic delicacy" as he called him to speak during the statement.
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