Defence secretary Philip Hammond was on the Daily Politics today and made a startling claim: that living standards are starting to rise again.
Defence secretary Philip Hammond was on the Daily Politics today and made a startling claim: that living standards are starting to rise again.
When asked by presenter Andrew Neil where he got the data showing living standards improving, however, he drew a blank.
Perhaps we can help him out.
Delivering its verdict on George Osborne’s Autumn Statement last week, director of the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson said the following:
“We do know from household surveys that income fell sharply in 2010 and 2011. It is almost certainly significantly lower now than it was in 2010.”
He added that:
“while it [income] should start to grow, it will surely still be below its 2010 level by the time we get to the election in 2015.”
In other words, Philip Hammond hasn’t got a “specific measure” because there isn’t one. Living standards will be worse at the end of the current parliament than they were at the start.
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
7 Responses to “Philip Hammond claims living standards are rising. Backs up the claim with…nothing”
John
I think the riots in 2011 will end up being a regular event if these stupid politicians don’t wake up soon.
blondebuster
Retail sales up by 2% volume year to 2013 proves there is no standard of living crisis, of course the fall in output of 7.2% in 2009 made people poorer, but whose fault was that?