The Office for National Statistics will shortly be publishing new figures on inflation rates for different types of household. They will also be updating the method for collecting individual prices from supermarkets. However, anyone hoping for evidence that inflation is much higher for low-income households is likely to be disappointed. In particular, the anti-poverty campaigner … Continue reading Is inflation really a lot higher for poorer people?
Author: julianhjessop
Time to ditch the National Insurance hike
The case for scrapping the increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs) planned for April is now so overwhelming that is hard to find good arguments in favour of keeping it. I’ve seen a few, but they are easy to knock down. Nick Macpherson, formerly the top civil servant at the Treasury, has tweeted that ‘National … Continue reading Time to ditch the National Insurance hike
Consensus is too pessimistic on the UK economy (again)
I’ve just updated my UK GDP forecasts with today’s data for November. Here are ten key points, including some international comparisons. 1. UK economic growth in 2021 is likely to be just shy of 7½%, 1% higher than assumed in the October Budget and 3% higher than the consensus in the Treasury survey at the … Continue reading Consensus is too pessimistic on the UK economy (again)
Put April’s tax rises on hold and let growth fix the public finances
First, the bad news. UK consumer price inflation has already hit 5.1pc in the 12 months to November. And it is likely to rise further in the coming months as businesses pass on more of the price pressure that is already in the pipeline. In particular, the energy regulator Ofgem is reviewing its cap on … Continue reading Put April’s tax rises on hold and let growth fix the public finances
Plain-speaking Economics 