The 1980s was a decade of divides. The proud industrial heartlands of the north suffering irreversible decline. The City of London enjoying an unprecedented boom. In the early 80s, Unemployment soared to the highest level since the Great Depression, manufacturing fell off a cliff. But not everyone suffered in the 80s. Financial liberalisation and tax …
1970s – The Decade That Nearly BROKE BritainWatch this video on YouTube Rubbish piled on the streets, record levels of strikes, an IMF bailout and runaway inflation. The 1970s has gone down in the popular imagination as a dark time, literally in the case of the 3-day week, when lights were turned off, but …
Do you remember the days when you can afford to buy a house with a modest income and small deposit? I don’t. I’m middle aged, but the last time house prices were affordable, I was trying to buy football stickers rather than a 3 bed semi. 10 Reasons You Can’t Afford to buy a House?Watch …
It’s been a good few decades for the top 1%, with big rises in income and wealth. But, what does it take to be in the top 1% by income, wealth, land-ownership and house values? If we look at the metric of wealth, a Swiss would need $8.5m, an American would need $5.8 million and …
In 1913, Britain was the largest trading nation in the world. 50% of global capital investment came from London. It was an economic powerhouse which defied its small size. But, in the past 100 years, the pound has devalued and the UK has seen a steady decline in relative importance. Some of this was inevitable, …
The UK housing market is a nightmare for first-time buyers. Average deposits £47,000. House prices eight times income, and for renters it’s even worse with rents remorselessly rising. But, there’s a new government and they have pledged to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years. Assuming they can achieve this goal, which is …
1970s – The Decade That Nearly BROKE BritainWatch this video on YouTube Readers Question I’m currently looking at stagflation in the mid-1970s in the UK, and the policies the then-Government undertook to solve the economic crisis. Was the Government right to widen the budget deficit 1974-5 in order to stimulate demand, or should it have …
In 1978, the Conservative Party hit on a fantastic election poster, Labour’s not working. Unemployment had recently hit 1.6 million or 5%. Ironically, a few years later unemployment would soon double to over 12% after the devastating early 1980s recession. But, what about 2024, is there a new epidemic of economic inactivity, people not working? …