Autumn Budget 2026: Wary Healey presents a Ming Vase Budget Opinion Healey has tried to avoid breaking anything – including Labour’s poll lead – in his Ming Vase Budget, writes Julian Jessop.
Are Labour Chancellors really still blaming Liz Truss? Opinion Healey's first speech as Chancellor parroted the usual Labour lines: the woes of austerity, the joys of the state and, of course, the villainy of Liz Truss.
Reeves’ Spring Statement was yet another missed opportunity Opinion Rachel Reeves wanted this Spring Statement to be a non-event. In that she succeeded, says Julian Jessop The Chancellor’s Spring Statement sent a signal of “steady as she goes”. Unfortunately, what was really needed is a change of course. There was plenty of party political knockabout, but no major policy announcements and nothing to lift [...]
Autumn Budget: Don’t let OBR gaffe mask Labour’s own mistakes November 26, 2025 The OBR's mistake was spectacular but accidental. The same can't be said for Labour, whose Budget missteps will do nothing to shift the economy.
Spring Statement provides some relief, but probably not for long March 26, 2025 The Spring Statement offered some reasonably good news on growth, but the margin for error is incredibly slim and the chances of further painful tax rises in autumn are high, says Julian Jessop Not quite a non-event, but it could have been a lot worse. Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement is unlikely to do any significant [...]
Rachel Reeves or Liz Truss: Who really ‘crashed the economy’? January 10, 2025 Amid UK bond market turmoil, how does Reeves' budget compare to Truss' - and who is really responsible for 'crashing the economy'?
Yes, the UK needs more investment – just not necessarily by government September 17, 2024 After all, the public sector isn't always best suited to overseeing large scale investment projects like the disastrous HS2, writes Julian Jessop
Forget the £5bn price tag – a better border could still be a Brexit win May 20, 2024 Claims that Brexit border controls have cost taxpayers £5bn do not amount to a proper cost-benefit analysis, says Julian Jessop The National Audit Office (NAO) has rightly had a go at the government’s handling of the rollout of new import controls after Brexit. But it is still too soon to judge the long-term impact. The [...]
Spring Budget in review: Some sensible moves, a few gimmicks, but mostly a bore March 7, 2024 So, what's the verdict? Some small steps in the right direction, but nothing to move the dial on the economy – or the opinion polls, writes Julian Jessop.
Britain needs to grow up – and have real conversations about the economy February 26, 2024 The UK’s economic problems clearly run deep, and tax cuts alone will not fix them, argues Julian Jessop
