November 17th is a big day for the Sunak government, and the country. This financial statement will define politics up the next election.
Since the Crash we’ve failed to grow at a per capita rate of more than roughly one per cent, home ownership is stagnant, and savings rates have steadily declined.
The recent history of the Conservative Party and the country is the ultras have had their way on both policy and personnel. The result – for both party and country – is now clear to see.
The Prime Minister made the statement and took questions from the press following her sacking of Kwarteng.
The British economy has under-performed ever since the global financial crisis. That has meant 15 years of low growth.
There is fight in the Conservative Party yet. The voices of decline have not silenced the voice of its leader.
Planning reform is the swiftest – and perhaps the only – path out of this country’s economic malaise. Will MPs let her take it?
At a macro-level, it reinforces prudence and affordability. But at a micro-level, it can be an obstacle to speed, efficiency and innovation.
The carnage in the markets is a reminder that she will need all the support from Conservative MPs she can get. That will require handling them with more tact and skill than she has shown so far.
The risks of an adverse market reaction were obvious in advance of Kwarteng’s statement, and a wise Chancellor would have taken heed of it. Unfortunately, the Permanent Secretary had been dismissed and he ploughed on apparently oblivious to the risks.
People need a sense of hope and optimism about their prospects. And one of the best ways for the new Prime Minister to deliver that credibly is indeed to show how they will grow the innovations which will make life better.
The first of a series of five articles on ConservativeHome this week about the main challenges that await the new Prime Minister.
The global rebound in 2021 was 6.1 per cen,t and this year the IMF expects global growth of 3.2 per cent followed by 2.9 per cent next. These forecasts may prove optimistic.
There is a political storm raging but becalmed in the eye of the storm is the economy. A tale of two halves, this is a result of both global forces and self-inflicted woes.
The Government should be more worried about the balance of payments deficit than about the government deficit. We cannot rely on the goodwill of foreigners. We need to start to close the gap and reduce our demands on foreign currency markets.