The Prime Minister’s economic strategy seems to depend on it staying low. But there’s no reason to believe that this will be the case.
The auditorium may be dull but the fringe is not – as questions from our past haunt the future, such as: will the productivity gains come?
He says that road haulage interests are trying to revive the pre-Brexit economy – but that the Government will stand firm for higher wages.
For all the focus elsewhere, the most important domestic department for the next two years will be the Department of Health.
Why is it that those on the Right who urge higher pay are vilified, while the Left applauds a low pay model for the economy?
Our manifesto couldn’t reasonably be expected to predict the freak consequences of Covid in terms of rapid wage growth.
It accounts for a larger share of output and a much larger share of productivity growth in poorer regions of the UK
Perhaps the simplest way of putting it is: it’s all about economic credibility, stupid. Because come 2024, it certainly will be.
We need to have a debate about which taxes are least damaging to economic growth. Over the long term, corporation tax ranks as being one of the worst.
It’s welcome that we’re investing much more in services. But we need to tackle the causes too.
We found over a million people excluded from the Government schemes are struggling to pay for food and everyday essentials.
Our research with low-income voters in some of these areas revealed that many are not expecting miracles. They simply want better local services.
The Government will need to think carefully about how any change to policy is presented, and the approach should be nuanced and flexible.
These are my starters for ten – so it’s over to you. What are the biggest choices? What are the problems that we have to get ahead of to keep afloat?
I thought it would be useful to pass on some phrases that have fallen into disuse, but might be needed again if the authorities don’t get their act together.