The TUC publishes regular expert analysis of the UK economy and our place in the world.
I have a blog in The New Statesman, entitled Workers on boards was an enlightened idea – Theresa May should have stuck to it. It sets out the TUC’s comments on the government’s corporate governance proposals, after our initial response described the proposals as feeble. And in the Guardian, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady and the Adam Smith Institute’s Sam…
It’s been a challenging summer for the UK economy with growth slowing, demand declining, business investment stalling and the UK’s balance of trade deteriorating. In happier news employment levels are at a record high, although real wages have continued to decline. So what’s going on in the economy? GDP growth The chart below represents the…
In a provocative piece this week (‘From Project Fear to Project Prosperity’), Professor Patrick Minford made a number of claims about the post-referendum economy. Apparently “the devaluation brought on by Brexit is acting as a powerful stimulus to the economy …”. Here’s how: … switching demand away from consumers to net exports and business investment,…
Have you ever had a ride in a light blue car? Have you ever stopped to think who’s the slave and who’s the master? Have you ever had trouble with your automobile? Have you ever had to push push push push? Car trouble oh yeah. – Adam Ant For those of a certain age, it…
Recent headline job numbers tell a welcome story of rising employment but they mask a growing living standards crisis. The latest figures show employment has reached a new record of 75.1% and the unemployment rate is just 4.4%. But workers are feeling the pinch with wages rising slower than the cost of living for the…
Where you are born should have no say on how your life pans out. But the reality of today’s Britain is different. Regional inequalities persist from birth to childhood, to working life and beyond. The North / South divide is not a myth… Your life is likely to be shorter if you’re from the North…
Worries about excessive bank lending to households are (understandably) never far from the headlines, but there is too little concern about the very low levels of lending to firms. The point of departure is a speech by Alex Brazier of the Bank of England, who examined in some detail the household story. According to his…
With the economy showing increased signs of weakness, it is welcome that that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted today to keep interest rates on hold. More surprising perhaps has been the recent positioning of MPC members that has fostered speculation that a rate rise was more likely. At one level this is understandable. With…
“Nothing in economics is more potent than a simple idea whose time has come”, Gavyn Davies, October 21st 2012 The week before last, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published a new assessment of ‘fiscal risks’ to the UK. Reporting on threats to the public finances, they warned against new spending commitments: “… new unfunded…
As its many champions constantly tell us, the City provides huge benefits to our economy in the form of contribution to GDP, tax take, balance of payments, employment and usage of financial services by UK households. This is undoubtedly true. But, the Financial Inclusion Centre’s new report for the TUC shows, set against that are…