The graph below, produce by Canadian-based bank Scotiabank, shows the evolving nature of GDP forecasts as applied to the UK economy.
As we can see, this is the third consecutive year where the consensus for growth has started out at around 2 per cent before gradually being pushed down towards zero as time has passed.
So much for the recession being made in the Eurozone. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that net trade is down and the largest fall in exports is to non-EU countries.
It is usually politicians of the left who are accused of letting welfare spending get “out of control”, but now seems a good time to look at just when it was that welfare spending began to take off as a percentage of GDP.
There are plenty of things Margaret Thatcher did which progressives are right to have opposed. Support for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet abroad, the casual disregard her government showed to the unemployed at home, the emasculation of local government and the introduction of Section 28.
Ever since Margaret Thatcher stopped appearing in public due to poor health, the left has seemingly been split between those readying themselves to celebrate her eventual passing and those who have resigned themselves to adopting her ideas.
The most read articles on Left Foot Forward this week.
No. Obviously not. Saying such a thing would constitute sensationalist reporting of the crudest kind, and I’m not going to resort to that.
But remember this:
While I don’t believe the criticism Osborne has received is in any way a distraction from the wider issues (if anything it’s an indictment of his inability to empathise with disabled shoppers), I thought it worth a quick look at just how out of touch this government is policy wise.
James Bloodworth looks back at the week’s politics, including our progressive, regressive and evidence of the week.
This week, the Chancellor spoke to staff working at a supermarket depot in Sittingbourne, Kent, about changes to the tax and benefits system. But would staff at Sittingbourne really be better off as a result of Osborne’s tax and benefits changes?
