HAMISH MCRAE: Second half of 2021 will give us a feel for how next growth phase of economy might unfold – but it’s a tricky six months before we get there Next year will be a year of two halves The first half will be a scramble – trying to patch things together again after … Read more
Finally MPs, the business community, employees and the rest of the country are discovering a terrible truth. When it comes to the economic impact of the tier levels that will determine the future of enterprise up and down the country during the coming months, the Government is clearly flying blind. Yesterday’s ‘impact statement’ was designed … Read more
The Government has produced a second top secret dossier laying bare the devastating impact multiple coronavirus lockdowns have had on the British economy – but Boris Johnson won’t release it, it was revealed today. Ministers are said to have designated a dozen industry sectors as ‘red’ – meaning they face significant job cuts and plunging revenues … Read more
Boris Johnson faces major revolt from MPs after dossier on tier system’s economic impact is slammed for containing no new information Ministers had hoped a 48-page report would head off Tory mutiny over the plans Critics say dossier does not shed enough light on likely impact of tiered system Sources conceded dozens of Tory MPs … Read more
Rapid economic recovery next year could allow Rishi Sunak to delay tax rises until 2022, ministers hope Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to commit to the Tories’ triple tax lock Senior Treasury ministers are waiting until the end of the coronavirus pandemic A source told The Telegraph tax rises would not come any time soon Mr … Read more
Boris Johnson has lashed out at ‘gloomy’ predictions of coronavirus woe, telling MPs they were too negative because they were made before last week’s vaccine breakthroughs. The Prime Minister made the comment as he addressed anxious backbenchers last night in the wake of Rishi Sunak’s spending review, which revealed the scale of the problem facing … Read more
Rishi Sunak has developed a flinty side. Unveiling his spending review yesterday, he displayed a grave, gritty mien. Previous Sunak speeches have been sadder affairs – all puppy-dog eyes and regretful delivery. But this time he coarsened his voice and stiffened his brow. He seemed older, weightier, more substantial. High office has hardened him. There … Read more
‘Our health emergency is not yet over,’ the Chancellor of the Exchequer said yesterday. ‘And our economic emergency has only just begun.’ Facing the steepest downturn since the Great Frost of 1709 – a slump in output of 11.3 per cent – Rishi Sunak said he was ready to spend, spend, spend to drag the … Read more
Britain’s coronavirus-ravaged economy will plunge even further if it fails to agree a Brexit trade deal with the EU, ministers were warned today. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that UK GDP could fall an additional two per cent next year if no agreement is in place before December 31. This is on top … Read more
A secret government memo has warned of a ‘systemic economic crisis’ when Britain leaves the European Union in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic’s second wave. The Cabinet Office dossier raises the spectre of a perfect storm: ‘severe flooding, pandemic influenza, a novel emerging infectious disease and coordinated industrial action, against a backdrop of the … Read more