Kate Andrews is economics editor of The Spectator
The good news started with the revelation that last month had produced a surplus of £16.7 billion for the Treasury – double the surplus of the same month last year and a record-breaking amount (in nominal terms) since records began. This has boosted hopes that the Chancellor will be able to offer up more tax
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Welcome to a slightly new format for the Edition podcast! Each week we will be talking about the magazine – as per usual – but trying to give a little more insight into the process behind putting The Spectator bed each week. On the podcast this week: the cost of Britain’s mass worklessness. According to The Spectator’s calculations,
What sent the economy into recession at the end of last year? The government blames higher interest rates, ushered in by the Bank of England. The Bank in turn points the finger at shocks such as Russia’s war against Ukraine. Both are plausible answers – and certainly part of the equation. But the Office for
Jeremy Hunt needed some good news this morning, when the monthly public sector finance update was released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Having promised meaningful tax cuts last month – and then rowed back expectations this month – the Chancellor was hoping for a notable surplus and reduction in borrowing to give himself a bit
The Tories have had a tax problem for quite some time. But news of a recession at the end of last year has made matters much worse. It has been an uncomfortable position, for Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, to defend the Conservative party taking the tax burden to a post-war high. The political defence
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This morning’s figures show that the UK went into a technical recession last year. Forecasts suggest it will be a short and shallow recession, but how badly does this reflect on the government’s priorities to increase growth and lower inflation? Also, will this make Rishi Sunak think again about his plan to meet as many
At the start of last year Rishi Sunak made the promise to ‘get the economy growing’ one of his five major pledges. Today he is confronted with headlines that the UK fell into recession at the end of last year, as the Office for National Statistics reported this morning that the economy contracted by 0.3 per cent
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Inflation figures released this morning have remained at 4 per cent – a worry for Rishi Sunak’s five pledges. There are several hurdles are still to come for the Prime Minister this week, including growth figures tomorrow and two by-elections on Friday. Why are the Tories keeping things low-key on the campaign trail? James Heale
The government had been facing two economic challenges this week, ahead of the by-elections in Kingswood and Wellingborough: the publication of the latest inflation figures and the economic growth figures for the last quarter of 2023. It has just about survived the first challenge. This morning’s update from the Office for National Statistics shows the inflation rate
Has the Labour market cooled down enough for the Bank of England to change its mind on interest rates? Almost certainly not, based on the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, out this morning. The reintroduction of the Labour Force Survey data, which had to be suspended temporarily due to poor and limited feedback, has
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Later today Keir Starmer is expected to officially kill off Labour’s £28 billion green investment pledge. With the centrepiece of their public policy now scrapped, what will Labour’s promise be at the next election? James Heale speaks to Kate Andrews and John McTernan, former No. 10 political secretary. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.
What will Labour’s flagship promise be going into the next election? There’s a policy vacancy, now that the party plans to ditch its pledge to spend £28 billion a year on green investment. This is not your average U-turn. This has been Labour’s big offering for more than two years. Yet today, Keir Starmer will ditch
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On the podcast: have the Tories given up on liberty? Kate Andrews writes the cover story for The Spectator this week. She argues that after the government announced plans to ban disposable vapes and smoking for those born after 2009, the Tories can no longer call themselves the party of freedom. Kate is joined by conservative peer
The Bank of England (BoE) has held interest rates at 5.25 per cent for the fourth time in a row. This is no big surprise: with inflation ticking back up slightly on the year to December (rising to 4 per cent) – continued trade disruption in the Red Sea last month is expected to have some impact
Rishi Sunak stood glowering over a school table and listed, with disdain, the flavours of the vapes that lay on the table in front of him. ‘Grapefruit,’ the Prime Minister declared. ‘Bubblegum. Strawberry. Berry Burst.’ Pupils at Haughton Academy were then invited to express their own disgust: ‘Bright colours,’ observed one student. ‘Appealing to younger
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Rishi Sunak has outlined plans to ban disposable vapes, and is hoping to change vape packaging to make it less appealing to children. Why? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
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NHS consultants have (narrowly) rejected another pay increase offered to them by the government. They will not immediately go back on strike, and will instead negotiate further with the government. Kate Andrews takes us through the details. Also on the podcast, Fraser Nelson responds to Spectator chairman Andrew Neil’s comments on BBC’s Newsnight last night, on the
On the face of it, this morning’s public sector finance update is good news. The government borrowed £7.8 billion in December last year. This is well below the £11 billion that economists had expected and almost half the £14 billion last forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). These are the lowest borrowing figures for December
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Jeremy Hunt said he would look to cut taxes in the March budget. In the Mail on Sunday, he said he would look to emulate the late Nigel Lawson, who as Margaret Thatcher’s chancellor slashed rates. But Hunt has been promising tax cuts, and hardly delivering, for a while. Will this time be any different?
More tax cuts are on their way, according to the both the Prime Minister and Chancellor who have written comment pieces in The Sun on Sunday and The Mail on Sunday respectively to indicate their intentions ahead of the upcoming March Budget. This is interesting because their published plans suggest a rise in taxes, to levels not seen in
