Rachel Reeves is getting her excuses in early ahead of next month’s Budget, which looks set to be a painful repeat of last October’s “one off”. The Chancellor has already blamed “external headwinds”, “Tory austerity” and “the ongoing impact of Liz Truss’s mini-Budget”. It is no surprise that she has now dropped the “B-word” too. … Continue reading The ‘Brexit blame game’ is pretty desperate stuff
Tag: Rachel Reeves
Raising income tax would be an act of desperation
The Chancellor is facing growing calls to ‘bite the bullet’ and raise the basic rate of income tax in the November Budget. This would carry huge economic and political risks, but Rachel Reeves may have left herself with no choice. It is already likely that the freeze on personal tax thresholds will be extended for … Continue reading Raising income tax would be an act of desperation
Will the UK need an IMF bailout?
This weekend the Sunday Telegraph led with Britain ‘heading towards IMF bailout’, citing three leading economists who are warning of a “1970s-style debt crisis unless the Chancellor changes course”. The three – Jagjit Chadha, Andrew Sentance and Willem Buiter – are not the usual suspects and their views should be taken seriously. The story was prompted … Continue reading Will the UK need an IMF bailout?
Better news on growth, but still not good enough
The latest GDP data should ease fears that the UK economy is sliding back into recession. But growth is still too weak to fix the public finances, or encourage hiring and investment, and there are already signs that any positive momentum is fading again. First, though, the good news. GDP grew by 0.3% in the … Continue reading Better news on growth, but still not good enough
Plain-speaking Economics 