Is Burnham taking Britain back to the 1970s; when will the economic pain arrive; why is the City demanding state protection; and why is London such an expensive date?
Excellent post, thanks Simon. I look forward to reading your thoughts on "squaring the circle".
About the 1970s, I think they will be remembered as being also the decade of prices & incomes policies, started by Ted Heath's Conservatives. (Maybe also for the boost the controls gave to pay alternatives, such as defined benefit pension schemes and company cars.)
What I ( sadly) remember about the 1970s was Nixon + Watergate, 1973 Oil crisis, the Yom Kippur War, Winter of Discontent with endless power cuts, miners strike with a vociferous Arthur Scargill while I huddled in front of the dying embers of our living room coal-fire - British Leyland collapsing, British steel struggling and the shipbuilders, Ian Paisley booming + the IRA, the killing of Ross McWhirter, Yorkshire Ripper, Brezhnev and Afghanistan, Lech Walesa and shot poles over food prices and....Britain finally joining the EEC...No comment from Burnham on the latter - the best thing that happened!? And no nostalgia from me, other than ABBA!
I remember the 1970s as a fun time (shabby Powis Square's mountain of garbage notwithstanding) but then we were young. Totally unbothered about there being one type of coffee and living in flats which the young would regard as uninhabitable. Burnham has the summer to get this right, especially regarding cost of living and the scandal that is water, and he should certainly be as ruthless as he can be in damaging Farage and Reform even further especially with people like Tony Gallagher on the warpath against them. It might not come round again.
On bringing fiscal consolidation forward whilst protecting/increasing public invrstment what shortvterm feasible cuts in current ecpenditure programnes can AB's new chancellor make?
No one who thinks that Luxembourg is the best place in the world to live has any business commenting on anything.
Now that we know who is Chancellor did Burnham think it a good idea to appoint an ex Defence secretary called Healey? History repeating itself as …?
Excellent post, thanks Simon. I look forward to reading your thoughts on "squaring the circle".
About the 1970s, I think they will be remembered as being also the decade of prices & incomes policies, started by Ted Heath's Conservatives. (Maybe also for the boost the controls gave to pay alternatives, such as defined benefit pension schemes and company cars.)
What I ( sadly) remember about the 1970s was Nixon + Watergate, 1973 Oil crisis, the Yom Kippur War, Winter of Discontent with endless power cuts, miners strike with a vociferous Arthur Scargill while I huddled in front of the dying embers of our living room coal-fire - British Leyland collapsing, British steel struggling and the shipbuilders, Ian Paisley booming + the IRA, the killing of Ross McWhirter, Yorkshire Ripper, Brezhnev and Afghanistan, Lech Walesa and shot poles over food prices and....Britain finally joining the EEC...No comment from Burnham on the latter - the best thing that happened!? And no nostalgia from me, other than ABBA!
I remember the 1970s as a fun time (shabby Powis Square's mountain of garbage notwithstanding) but then we were young. Totally unbothered about there being one type of coffee and living in flats which the young would regard as uninhabitable. Burnham has the summer to get this right, especially regarding cost of living and the scandal that is water, and he should certainly be as ruthless as he can be in damaging Farage and Reform even further especially with people like Tony Gallagher on the warpath against them. It might not come round again.
On bringing fiscal consolidation forward whilst protecting/increasing public invrstment what shortvterm feasible cuts in current ecpenditure programnes can AB's new chancellor make?
Burnham was born in 1970, so I doubt he was thinking too much about the economy until at least the late 80s.
I think Lord O'Neill will be a decent advisor on economic matters.
I'm worried about Mahmood at the Treasury though