After a bankbench rebellion, the chancellor Rachel Reeves was visibly upset in parliament this week, perhaps she had just been given the latest UK economic forecasts. When the OBR published this forecast for UK debt, one commentator said it was misleading and alarmist, because it assumes policy never changes. But, the evidence from recent years …
Recently, Donald Trump told the chair of the Federal Reserve that the US should be cutting interest rates like other countries. And it is true the UK and US have been slow to cut interest rates. They are now double the level in Europe and Canada. Although Rachel Reeves is unlikely to be sending notes …
The Madness of Spending Money to Deal with CutsWatch this video on YouTube In the past two years, I’ve spent £450 fixing broken suspension on my car. I’m not the only one, Kwik Fit estimated the costs to motorists from pothole damage to be £1.7bn. Yet fixing roads has suffered from government cut backs, especially …
This is UK National debt since 1780. It tells part of the national story. Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo didn’t just change European history, it saved Britain from bankruptcy. The two world wars once again saw debt surge as the debt provided an emergency lifeline. How Does Government Debt Work?Watch this video on YouTube However, despite …
Since 2020, Spain has been one of Europe’s best-performing economies. Despite Covid, it has grown by 8%, outperforming the likes of the UK, Germany and France. In 2024, Spanish growth was an impressive 3.1%, (and according to the boast of a Spanish minister), accounting for 50% of all the EU’s economic growth. How the Spanish …
Is there a crisis facing young men? In recent decades, many traditional male jobs have disappeared and this has caused a significant drop in male employment levels. In 1970, economic inactivity rates for men were 16% today it has risen to 32%. This decline in traditional employment patterns has contributed to a growth in mental …
In 1973, in response to the Yom Kippur War, OPEC introduced an oil embargo which caused prices to rise 300%. It ushered in an era of high inflation and political volatility. In 1979, the Iranian revolution caused another 300% rise in oil prices which caused a secondary inflation shock and the deep recession of 1981. …
Between 1991 and 1998, Russian GDP fell an estimated 40%. The transition to a free market economy was plagued by hyperinflation, rising poverty, falling life expectancy and social dysfunction. Whilst the average citizen saw a marked deterioration in the quality of life, a few oligarchs became intensely rich as they bought state assets at a …