Including thoughts on why young people aren’t working, the folly of rent controls, the outlook for energy bills, the possibility of a 2027 general election, and more “fake news” to call out in The Independent. Theme of the Week I have spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to debunk “fake … Continue reading Weekly wrap – Lies, damn lies, and “Brexit exclusives”
Category: Fiscal Policy
Weekly wrap – is UK productivity finally recovering?
Including thoughts on the latest news from the labour market (not all bad), signs that the economy retains some positive momentum, and what could still go wrong - including autumn hikes in both taxes and interest rates. Theme of the Week This week’s official labour market data were grim. The UK economy continues to shed payroll jobs, … Continue reading Weekly wrap – is UK productivity finally recovering?
A sceptical first take on moving growth policy from HMT to No.10 North
“Treasury Orthodoxy” gets a bad rap. Shuffling responsibilities is pointless unless the policy choices improve. And the fiscal rules, OBR, and bond market vigilantes will all still be big constraints. Andy Burnham has announced that responsibility for national economic growth policy will move from HM Treasury to No.10 North. I am surprised that this announcement … Continue reading A sceptical first take on moving growth policy from HMT to No.10 North
Weekly wrap – Has Andy Burnham already run out of ideas?
Including thoughts on the PM's “everyday fixes”, why we shouldn’t pick on mandarins, the downsides of emergency alerts, seasonality in the GDP data, and who is really “queuing up” to join the EU… Theme of the week Andy Burnham’s latest big idea is a series of “everyday fixes” to help with the cost of living. … Continue reading Weekly wrap – Has Andy Burnham already run out of ideas?
Plain-speaking Economics 