UK recession risk just got a whole lot lower after inflation undershoot July 25, 2023 From the Bank of England to recession warnings, Jack Barnett gets under the skin of Britain’s economy in his weekly column Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey would not have been the only person in the City last week breathing a sigh of relief after the better than expected inflation numbers. It was the first [...]
With Britain’s economic warning lights flashing, we need more than just tax cuts September 23, 2022 There are numerous indicators on the UK’s economic dashboard that are currently flashing red. Against these headwinds, tax cuts may be necessary but they will almost certainly not be sufficient
Post-Brexit trade: Over half of UK firms pivoting to EU for growth, HSBC report says November 15, 2022 More than half UK firms are pivoting toward the European Union to navigate their way through economic turbulence. A groundbreaking survey carried out by HSBC UK found that 53 per cent of companies are targeting trade with the continent in spite of post-Brexit rules and renewed Brussels red tape. Surveying 2,000 firms in one of [...]
Treasury denies allegations of gambling with economy as pound falls below $1.10 September 24, 2022 The Treasury has denied allegations of gambling with the UK’s economy as the pound fell below $1.10 for the first time in almost 40 years following yesterday’s mini-budget. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said Britain will go on an “unsustainable path” of borrowing following the reforms – the most radical in [...]
Rwanda plan ‘not the be all and end all’, says James Cleverly November 25, 2023 The flagship Rwanda asylum plan is not the “be all and end all” of government efforts to tackle illegal migration, the Home Secretary has said.
Sunak’s tough choices: a sobering assessment November 25, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s spending review was a sobering assessment of not only the challenges facing the UK economy, but also the enormous economic damage created by the pandemic and the numerous lockdowns around the country, with the budget deficit for 2020 expected to come in at £394bn. The Chancellor said that the UK economy was likely [...]
A ‘policy light’ spending review must still grapple with cost of living woes March 22, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak wants onlookers to pay little attention to Wednesday’s spring statement. Policy-light has been the line from the Treasury. Very few have been tempted into believing the Chancellor will sit on his hands and Sunak’s announcements tomorrow are set to finally reveal his true preference for the level of state intervention in the [...]
Budget: Why Jeremy Hunt needs you back at work to prevent a recession March 15, 2023 This was a budget for the workforce. It showed signs of sparking the supply side revolution that Liz Truss championed, but crashed hard in trying to get there too quickly. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) thinks so. It projects the government’s collective policies designed to boost the labour market will provide a 0.2 per [...]
Bailey’s wage dilemma is real, but the Bank has dragged its feet on inflation February 10, 2022 It is often argued the signal central banks’ bond buying programmes send to markets is more effective at shaping financial conditions than the purchases themselves. It is all about influencing expectations by sending the message that monetary policy will stay loose. Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey’s message to workers to temper pay [...]
Warnings rental reform could disincentivise landlords as bill returns to House of Lords May 16, 2024 Peers have been warned government moves to bring in rental reform risk making it “less attractive” to be a landlord.