Michael Simmons is The Spectator's economics editor. Contact him here.
15 min listen
Happy All Hallows’ Eve, everyone – and there is something spooky going on with Rachel Reeves and a property in Dulwich. Yesterday she was leading the news after admitting to renting out her family home following the move into No. 11 without getting the required licence from Southwark Council. There are a number of mitigating
35 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Luke Coppen looks at a new musical subgenre of Roman Catholic black metal; Mary Wakefield celebrates cartoonist Michael Heath as he turns 90 – meaning he has drawn for the Spectator for 75 years; looking to Venezuela, Daniel McCarthy warns Trump about the perils of regime change; Michael Simmons
Are the rich fleeing Britain? That’s what the numbers suggest, but some activist groups have hit back saying that the data is dodgy. For the second episode of Reality Check, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons explains why the data shows that the wealthy are leaving Britain, and why this matters for everyone else.
17 min listen
There are a few sore heads at 22 Old Queen Street this morning because it was The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year Awards last night. From Lucy Powell’s jibe at Morgan McSweeney (and Tim Shipman, for that matter) to Robert Jenrick’s jokes falling flat, it was an eventful evening of good-natured hazing, naval-gazing and –
There were cheers in the Treasury last month as the nation’s statisticians discovered a spare £3 billion down the back of the sofa. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) admitted that VAT receipts had been under-reported by £1 billion last year and £2 billion this year. The newly found cash will go some way to
14 min listen
Kemi Badenoch continues to look more confident at PMQs – although there are always going to be some easy goals when you lead on the economy. Today she pressed the Prime Minister on Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance – which he dodged – as well as repeating her
14 min listen
There are reports that the OBR will downgrade Britain’s productivity growth forecasts, increasing the size of the black hole facing the Chancellor at the end of the month. This continues the spate of bad news for the Chancellor on the economy – but can we trust the figures? James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick
Rachel Reeves is reportedly looking at a 2p increase in income tax. The hike to the basic rate – paid on earnings between £12,571 and £50,270 – would take it from 20 per cent to 22 per cent. That’s still quite low by historic standards, despite the overall tax burden heading towards record highs. But
45 min listen
Reality Check, The Spectator’s new data-driven show hosted by economics editor Michael Simmons, kicks off with a big name: Arthur Laffer. The man who taught Reagan to cut taxes tells Michael why Britain’s economy is ‘disappearing’, why the Bank of England shouldn’t exist, and why he still believes low taxes – and a little optimism
I’m delighted to announce the launch of my new podcast and newsletter Reality Check. In each episode I’ll cut through the spin and explain the numbers behind the noise. For the first installment I sat down with the American economist Arthur Laffer. ‘Course you would,’ is not the answer I expect when I ask tax-cutting
Prices are still rising fast. The Consumer Prices Index rose by 3.8 per cent in September – the same pace as in August but nearly double the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target. Markets, and the Bank itself, had expected inflation to reach 4 per cent, so the fact it has remained flat will
11 min listen
Rachel Reeves is hosting an investment summit in Birmingham, trying to turn the narrative away from Britain’s economic ‘doom loop’ ahead of next month’s budget. But the harbinger of bad economic news Michael Simmons – who joins James Heale and Patrick Gibbons on the podcast – points to the news today of soaring government borrowing
Britain continues to be consumed by debt. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that last month the state had to borrow £20.2 billion to stay afloat. That was £1.6bn more than in September last year and the highest September borrowing total for five years. ‘Debt interest, the cost of providing
14 min listen
It’s been a rough week for the government: the row over the collapsed Chinese spy trial has rolled on, all while the Chancellor has been trying to lay the groundwork ahead of next month’s budget. Then, overnight, another issue has emerged as fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football team have been banned from attending
The economy is slowing down. GDP grew 0.3 per cent in the three months to August. As ever, services propped up Britain, growing by 0.4 per cent, while the production sector shrank by 0.3 per cent, according to Office for National Statistics data. We could have news of a stagnating economy confirmed just in time
Rachel Reeves is trapped in an economic ‘doom loop’: high debt, low growth and higher debt again. But, as pessimists’ eyes turn to the Chancellor’s Budget next month, there is a way she can turn that loop into a ‘virtuous circle’. The doom loop theory of Reeves’s economy has so far gone like this: Following
When Linden Kemkaran (formerly of The Spectator) was elected leader of Kent County Council, she presented herself as the poster-child for Reform in power. ‘The electorate,’ she said in June, ‘are looking to judge whether they can put their trust in a Reform government at the next election.’ Her administration set up ‘Dolge’, a ‘department of
11 min listen
Tim Shipman and Michael Simmons join Lucy Dunn live at Manchester for Conservative party conference. It’s day two, and we’ve heard from shadow chancellor Mel Stride, who unveiled various pledges including business rates relief and spending cuts. The Tories are clearly trying to position themselves again as the party of ‘fiscal prudence’ – but are
The message the Tories want you to leave their conference with is that they are the party of prudence. The party of fiscal responsibility who will make the first ‘serious down payments’ on the size of the state, as shadow chancellor Mel Stride explained at a Spectator drinks reception last night. Today, he will set
11 min listen
Labour party conference has kicked off in Liverpool, and the Chancellor has just delivered her keynote speech. ‘Security, security, security’ was the message from Rachel Reeves as she addressed the Labour party faithful. The Labour government, she said, will create an economy that puts the British worker above all else. Aside from setting out her
