Another day, another flurry of bad news on the fallout from October’s Budget. The BDO Monthly Business Trends indices - which pull together the results of all the main UK business surveys – show that confidence has fallen to the lowest level in almost two years, with output and employment down, and only inflation up. … Continue reading Is Britain really fated for economic decline?
Tag: Politics
A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
The usual suspects were quick to seize on Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections as ‘yet another reason’ for the UK to rejoin the EU. Of course, some people need no excuse. If Kamala Harris had won, they would have insisted that a rejuvenated Democrat-led administration offered a great opportunity to reset US-EU … Continue reading A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
Five ways in which the Budget could unravel
Rachel Reeves’ first Budget was not all bad (see my response on the day here). For a start, the new fiscal rules, while still flawed, are an improvement on what went before. Balancing day-to-day spending with current tax revenue makes good economic sense, as does tweaking the targeted measure of debt to take more account … Continue reading Five ways in which the Budget could unravel
First thoughts on the Budget
Above all, this was a Budget for a bigger state. Public spending will be even higher, financed by large increases both in taxation and in government borrowing. In addition, the Budget continues the steady ratcheting up of state intervention and regulation, including another large increase in minimum wages. This is very hard to square with … Continue reading First thoughts on the Budget
Plain-speaking Economics 