IFS says Sunak likely to end up spending more than planned November 25, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is likely to end up spending more than he said he plans to in his spending review today amid “lasting damage” to the economy, the leading Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank and other experts have said. Sunak today said he would ramp up public spending to tackle coronavirus next year [...]
Sunak’s tough choices: a sobering assessment November 25, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s spending review was a sobering assessment of not only the challenges facing the UK economy, but also the enormous economic damage created by the pandemic and the numerous lockdowns around the country, with the budget deficit for 2020 expected to come in at £394bn. The Chancellor said that the UK economy was likely [...]
UK borrowing to hit record £394bn as economy shrinks 11.3 per cent November 25, 2020 Government borrowing is set to soar to a peacetime record of £394bn this year while the economy will contract at the fastest pace since the 1700s thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, according to bleak predictions from the UK’s budget watchdog. The figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show that unemployment is expected to [...]
Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut November 25, 2020 Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut
HMRC: 2.7m people still on furlough at end of September November 25, 2020 Around 2.7m people were still on furlough in the UK at the end of September, HMRC has estimated, as the UK’s incomplete economic recovery was knocked back by rising coronavirus cases. HMRC said the arts, recreation and entertainment sector had the highest proportion of workers on furlough, at 23 per cent. Food and accommodation was [...]
DEBATE: Should Rishi Sunak scrap the RPI inflation measure in today’s Spending Review? November 25, 2020 Should Rishi Sunak scrap the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure in today’s Spending Review? Angus Hanton, co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation, says YES. We need to say RIP to RPI. Why? Because the use of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) is based on a flawed methodology — one which disproportionately impacts younger generations. From [...]
Want people to get the Covid vaccine? Pay them November 25, 2020 The vaccines seem to be coming thick and fast. The task now is to ensure that enough people get them to keep the virus under control. The first issue is one of logistics. The track record of the UK’s health bureaucracy during the crisis has not been good. But the NHS does have experience of [...]
Rishi Sunak’s spending review: Three things to look out for November 24, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is no stranger to the House of Commons despatch box, having delivered numerous mini-budgets since March. But tomorrow he will lay out comprehensive spending plans for the 2021-22 financial year in one of his biggest announcements yet. Although it will not cover a three-year period, as originally planned, it will show the [...]
UK retail sales fall in November but online shopping booms, survey shows November 24, 2020 Overall UK retail sales dropped in November but online shopping boomed as the England-wide lockdown forced customers to change their habits, a new survey has shown. The CBI’s monthly retail survey showed that sales fell in November year on year at a similar pace to the drop in October. The sales gauge came in at [...]
UK economy to contract in November amid second Covid-19 lockdown November 24, 2020 The UK economy is set to suffer a significant contraction this month after Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a second national coronavirus lockdown. After six consecutive months of growth, the economy is expected to shrink 5.7 per cent in November, before recovering a marginal 0.3 per cent in December, according to analysis by PwC. The [...]