Economics newsletter
Brace yourself: inflation is coming
In a surprise to no one, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted nine-zero to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent. The unanimous decision is the first time the MPC have been in complete agreement since September 2021. Before Trump and Israel’s bombs rained down on Iran, the markets had been
Britain may have finally turned a corner on jobs
Finally, some good economic news: Britain may have turned a corner on jobs. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the unemployment rate remained flat at 5.2 per cent in January. On payrolled jobs there was positive news too: employees on PAYE payrolls in February grew at their fastest rate since
The Iran conflict is morphing into an energy war
Into the early hours of this morning, Israel and Iran continued exchanging direct strikes, while the fighting spread further across Lebanon and the Gulf, and increasingly centred on energy infrastructure. Iranian officials confirmed the death of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib Israel widened its campaign inside Iran. Late last night, the Israeli military said it had
The French lesson that could save Rachel Reeves – and Britain’s economy
Rachel Reeves faces a strikingly similar predicament to that faced by Pierre Moscovici, who became France’s finance minister under François Hollande in 2012. Moscovici – and Reeves – both inherited the classic problem of the modern centre left: expensive promises and no obvious way to pay for them. The economy was sluggish; unemployment was climbing
The Greens’ Zack-onomics doesn’t add up
Tax the billionaires, nationalise the utilities and abolish the Office for Budget Responsibility. Green party leader Zack Polanski has set out his vision for how Britain’s economy should be run. The sticking point? There are plenty, not least the fact that there is little in his speech today at the New Economics Foundation to suggest
Richard Tice’s tax trickery shows he is a true patriot
Reform’s Richard Tice has been the subject of what I fear is intended as a hit-piece in the Sunday Times. “The Deputy Leader of Reform UK avoided nearly £600,000 in corporation tax after obtaining a rare legal status for his company,” it reports. “Richard Tice then channeled the company’s dividends into an offshore trust and a string of dormant businesses. Several did not
Is it cruel or kind to sign someone off work for anxiety?
Each batch of new statistics reveals the scale of Britain’s mental health crisis. This week, we learnt that the number of people claiming health benefits because they are deemed too sick to look for work has, for the first time, topped three million. Since the start of 2022, nine-in-ten new claims have been for people
The inconvenient truth about Britain’s ‘nuclear renaissance’
The Red Queen warned Alice, ‘Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.’ Her quip captures a cruel reality: things decay all by themselves when left unattended; keeping up – let alone making progress – requires sustained effort. And so it goes with Britain’s decaying
Replacing Churchill with wildlife on our banknotes is a mistake
The Bank of England has announced that pictures of wildlife will replace famous faces on our banknotes. A cute kitten, perhaps? Or a puppy doing some tricks? Or, given that China may well have hacked into the system, even a panda bear? Whichever animals end up making the cut, it’s goodbye to Winston Churchill, Jane
No, Britain is not about to run out of gas
Over the weekend, following continued US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the resulting disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, several newspapers warned that Britain has ‘just two days of gas’ left in storage. This line appeared prominently in coverage from outlets including the Guardian and the Times, leaving readers with the impression that the