In January the Prime Minister outlined his five priorities for 2023. The first pledge was to “halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security.” The other targets are more challenging, but this one at least has now been met. This is because the CPI measure of inflation fell … Continue reading Give Rishi Sunak a little credit for hitting his inflation target – but not a lot
Tag: Treasury
Are tax rises inevitable?
If you believe the smoke signals from the Treasury – and you probably should – the Budget on 17 November will have to include big increases in tax in order to plug a ‘black hole’ in the public finances. But is it inevitable that taxes will have to rise and, if so, what’s the best way to … Continue reading Are tax rises inevitable?
What have we learned from the first week of ‘Trussonomics’?
The old saying that a ‘week is a long time in politics’ can rarely have been more apt. The changes in Westminster have been overshadowed by the transition in the Monarchy. But the new Prime Minister has also begun to tackle the challenges facing the UK economy. The first big policy announcement was a freeze … Continue reading What have we learned from the first week of ‘Trussonomics’?
The UK’s flexible labour market needs to be allowed to do its job
The Treasury is right to begin to wind down the furlough scheme – and not a moment too soon. The UK economy is springing back to life and the labour market is not far behind. It will take a while for this to be confirmed in the official data. We still only have the headline … Continue reading The UK’s flexible labour market needs to be allowed to do its job
Plain-speaking Economics 