On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will present her ‘Spending Review 2025’. This will set day-to-day budgets for all government departments for the three years from 2026-27 to 2028-29, and investment spending plans for a further year, to 2029-30. As usual, many of the details have already been revealed. In particular, ministers have trumpeted a ‘transformative … Continue reading Lies, damn lies, and Spending Review soundbites
Category: Fiscal Policy
What is the real cost of the Chagos deal?
Many people are understandably still confused about the huge differences between the official figure of 'just' £3.4 billion for the cost of the Chagos deal, as cited by the Prime Minister, and other estimates which are as high as £30.3 billion. Here's my best attempt to clarify. The top figure of £30.3 billion (which I … Continue reading What is the real cost of the Chagos deal?
What to make of Trump’s tariffs?
Here are the slides from a presentation I gave today to sixth form students at a school in Reading. It features a discussion of the pros and (mostly) cons of the new US tariffs policy and concludes with a recommended book and a film for budding economists! What to make of Trump's tariffs (9 May … Continue reading What to make of Trump’s tariffs?
The Government should hold the line on public sector pay
The independent pay review bodies are reportedly set to recommend pay increases of around 3pc for NHS staff and 4pc for teachers. However, the Government has only budgeted for a 2.8pc increase for public sector workers. This is broadly in line with expected price rises over the coming year, but still higher than the Bank … Continue reading The Government should hold the line on public sector pay
Plain-speaking Economics 