Economist, Visiting Professor, Lecturer, Writer, Public Speaker.
Even with one of the largest parliamentary majorities in its history and the Conservatives with their lowest-ever vote share, the incoming Labour administration faces a daunting task: improving UK economic growth. It knows that was why it was elected; after all, growing the economy through increased productivity was the focus of its election campaign. It …
Continue reading “An historic election win but big challenges loom”
It’s hard to find anything to like in the Autumn Statement delivered by Jeremy Hunt. While on the surface, the 2% cut in National Insurance contributions seems like a good idea, it looks worse the more you examine what it means and its implications. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) references to the ‘headroom’ to …
Continue reading “An election Budget that does not address UK challenges”
As expected, the Bank of England left interest rates on hold at its November quarterly meeting. Three members were still calling for rate hikes of a ¼ of one per cent even though the Bank of England lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2024 from half a per cent to zero and its forecast …