The BBC is reporting today that the Prime Minister is considering a significant increase in defence spending or, more precisely, that Keir Starmer is looking at bringing forward increases that have already been promised. The Labour government has previously committed to raising core defence spending from a little under 2.5% of national income currently to the new … Continue reading The hard sell: Britain needs to step up to fund its own defence
Tag: bank of england
Bank of England remains in the slow lane on rate cuts
The Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 3.75% today was no great surprise, but the 5-4 vote was much closer than most had anticipated. Unfortunately, this dovish tilt owes more to rising concerns about growth and jobs than it does to increasing optimism about inflation, even though the two are of course related. In … Continue reading Bank of England remains in the slow lane on rate cuts
“The OBR: 15 years on”
I recently submitted some written evidence (or at least some opinions!) to the Treasury Select Committee’s new inquiry reflecting on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) first 15 years. In case of wider interest, I have pasted the text below (in the format requested by the Committee). Written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee Submitted by … Continue reading “The OBR: 15 years on”
Is the UK economy “turning the corner”?
The past week was packed with new data releases which sent some mixed signals on the health of the UK economy and the prospects for 2026. This note takes stock. The most encouraging news came from the latest S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index, which jumped to 53.9 in January from 51.4 in December. … Continue reading Is the UK economy “turning the corner”?
Plain-speaking Economics 