Zooming into a climate crisis October 8, 2021 As I sat on my seventh Zoom call of the day, my mind drifted into thinking about how my working habits have changed over the last year. As we entered lockdown in 2020, there was a palpable enthusiasm as we all began to adopt new behaviours. Not ‘going to work’ became legitimised by the pandemic, [...]
Labour says government ‘underplaying’ energy crisis as Kwarteng guarantees winter supply October 7, 2021 Labour is accusing the government of “underplaying” the energy price crisis as Kwasi Kwarteng today vowed the UK has enough supply to last through winter. Shadow business and energy secretary Ed Miliband today said the amount of energy companies going bust “is not a normal course of events”, despite claims from Kwarteng, and that “we [...]
BoE new chief economist slams employer for dropping the ball on inflation October 7, 2021 The Bank of England’s newly crowned chief economist has slammed his new employer for dropping the ball on inflation. Huw Pill, Andy Haldane’s successor, characterised the Bank’s bet on the inflation upsurge being transitory as “proving greater than expected.” “Over recent months inflation has surprised to the upside, UK activity data have disappointed somewhat, while [...]
Britain’s economic adjustment only ends in one way October 7, 2021 The ails of the nation’s favourite sausage roll maker are a microcosm of the problems afflicting the UK economy. In a trading update yesterday, high street baker Greggs warned it is suffering from a “supply of ingredients.” A couple months back, it pulled its iconic chicken bite for similar reasons. Severe shortages plaguing the British [...]
IFS: Council tax hike is looming over Brits October 7, 2021 Brits are facing the prospect of further tax hikes down the line that will intensify the cost of living crisis already squeezing household finances. Council tax could have to rise by as much as five percentage points per year for the next three years, according to the economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies [...]
Party time for Tories as Boris Johnson shows off his iron grip on British politics October 6, 2021 Boris Johnson’s bouyant speech today was a fitting end to a Tory party conference that was marked by an overriding sense of triumphalism. Endless crates of Bollinger were cracked open with the ease and vigour of a teenager necking their first Bacardi Breezer. The Midland Hotel’s bar was packed round the clock with bespectacled and [...]
PM unaware of British businesses’ ‘lived realities’ October 6, 2021 Business leaders and industry chiefs have lashed out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson for dismissing the “lived realities” of British companies after he delivered the concluding speech at the Conservative Party conference today. In a policy-light but joke-heavy address, Johnson said the UK is barrelling toward a “high wage, high skill and low tax economy” [...]
Tory conference: Boris Johnson’s speech in full October 6, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered his second leader’s speech at Conservative conference today. Here is his speech in full. Isn’t it amazing to be here in person the first time we have met since you defied the sceptics by winning councils and communities that Conservatives have never won in before – such as Hartlepool in [...]
Liz Truss tells Tories to get a grip on cost of living crisis or risk losing next election October 5, 2021 Liz Truss has warned the Tory party that it must ease cost of living pressures by the next election or risk facing the wrath of the electorate. The foreign secretary said that “every sinew of the government needs to be strained to create the conditions for enterprise across the country”. Many Britons are in for [...]
Editorial: Crisis? What crisis? Sunak and his party would be wise to avoid complacency October 5, 2021 The year is 1979, and rubbish bags are piling up in Leicester Square. Lorry drivers are striking leading to queues at fuel pumps, and Brits are panic-buying bread. Prime Minister Jim Callaghan returns to Britain from a conference in Guadeloupe and declares airily that “I don’t think other people in the world would share the [...]