Further year of weak UK growth on cards Economists are bracing themselves for another year of weak growth as Britain's prospects for a recovery remain gloomy, according to the Financial Times" New Year survey of 94 leaders in the sector. A larger number of those surveyed thought George Osborne should rethink his austerity drive, but a slender majority still believed the chancellor's Plan A was the right route. Chris Giles There was also an increased willingness to reconsider the mandate of the Bank of England, with half of the 10 former monetary policy committee members surveyed saying the Treasury should change the 2 per cent inflation target. The pessimistic consensus reflects the bitter experience of the past two years when higher hopes at the start of the year were dashed by the autumn. Sir Howard Davies, former chairman of the Financial Services Authority, reflected the majority view when he said that any recovery in 2013 would be weak. "We will be bumping uncomfortably along the bottom, I fear," Sir Howard said. A slender 46-42 majority thought the recovery in 2013 would be "sustained," but even the most optimistic did not think an expansion would be fast. Dame DeAnne Julius, the former member of the MPC whose contributions were recognised in the New Year honours list, said: "I expect a slow but sustained recovery during 2013 led by consumption as households feel more confident about employment prospects and the housing market." Amid the expectation of another year of economic grind, there was a new willingness to reconsider fiscal and monetary policy. Although a small majority still thought Mr Osborne should stick to his policies to reduce the deficit, the margin of support had dropped from previous years. Adam Posen, the head of the Peterson Institute who left the MPC in the summer, said the coalition's deficit reduction strategy was "damaging to the UK economy and self-defeating." Amit Kara from UBS said there was "some room for manoeuvre on government spending" but warned that the UK would not benefit hugely from a large fiscal expansion unless other countries were doing the same. With Mark Carney, the governor-designate for the Bank of England, advocating the potential benefits of a new monetary strategy, there was also a large minority of economists that favoured a change to the 2 per cent inflation target, although little consensus on how any new regime should work. The new monetary thinking was most evident among former members of the bank's MPC. Ten replied to the FT's survey, of which five said there should be a change to the monetary policy remit, including Kate Barker, who nevertheless cautioned that any change would not solve Britain's problems at a stroke. "There is no easy way out," she said. If the prospects of another weak year kept economists in gloomy mood, the prospects of Britain's potential exit from the EU added to the list of worries for a majority. Simon Wells of HSBC said: "The questions about the UK's European future add yet another source of uncertainty."