Latest attack on Ed Miliband not backed up by the facts
As the cuts debate rages, the ippr’s senior economist Tony Dolphin looks at whether the latest critique of Ed Miliband’s economic policy is justified.
economy
Osborne’s financial pain begins as VAT hike hits
Despite the patently dishonest claims by the Tories that the VAT rise is progressive, it will, as the IFS says, hit the poorest hardest – particularly families.
Economic update – January 2011
Tony Dolphin, of the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), looks at the state of the economy as we enter the new year.
SDLP: Our progressive vision of an all-island, high tech economy
SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie discusses her plans for the future of the party and progressive politics in Northern Ireland ahead of the 2011 Assembly elections.
A year of economic uncertainty lies ahead
The following 12 months will be the year where the consequences of policymakers’ decisions and indecision are felt by all. Five questions will dominate economic discourse in 2011.
Low-to-middle earners suffer 5.4 per cent drop in average salaries
The 2010 ‘Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings’ data released today by the ONS shows that the median annual salary earned by all workers fell by 0.4 per cent in nominal terms from £21,310 in 2009 to £21,221 in 2010. Once inflation is taken into account (RPI increased by 5.3 per cent between April 2009 and April 2010, which is the date the ASHE survey relates to), stagnation turns to significant contraction, with the median salary falling by a sizeable 5.4 per cent.
Economic forecasts reveal high degree of uncertainty
Worries about a ‘double dip’ recession in the UK have faded in recent weeks. But recent forecasts reveal how much uncertainty there is about the economic outlook right now.
Economic update – December 2010
There is a widespread view that future growth in the UK economy will be more sustainable if it is driven by net exports and business investment and not by household spending. The third quarter GDP numbers provided mixed news for supporters of this view.
Bank’s Adam Posen: cuts will be “quite contractionary”
The Bank of England’s Adam Posen expects the impact of the Coalition’s cuts as “quite contractionary”. He also accused Mervyn King of being “excessively political”.
Real wages set to fall for three years
A new report shows that cuts, rising inflation and stagnating pay will make lower middle classes £720 a year worse off. It shows that wages will fall in real terms until 2013.