This week's budget is set to be a fitting coda to 14 years of Tory economic misrule that will leave an incoming Labour government with few good options
Great article, Simon. In fact the situation with the UK is worst than it looks. The small cap market, which is a better barometer for the UK as these businesses are more UK facing, trades at a 25% discount to the US and 10% to Europe. Before Brexit UK small cap was at a premium to Europe and a much smaller discount to the US.
Thanks John. I intend to do a post soon looking specifically at the issue of the equity capital markets and what, if anything, can be done to address the problem...
I’m sorry but no, yes the Tory’s left Blair with low inflation and decent growth and they do deserve credit for that but they also left 20%+ youth unemployment, crumbling public services and real problems with long term unemployment, let’s stop pretending they were better than they were
I agree with every word. Thank you for contributing such a convincing account. As the next administration struggles to deal with all this, formidable commentators like you will be needed to remind the electorate of what the Conservative party did to the country.
I find the idea that low interest rates fuelled a rise in prices for assets very compelling, which then created a bigger divide in society. Having also worked for DJ I wonder what your opinion on how and if Murdoch management influence their journalist's output.
"In an effort to appease the press, Starmer and Reeves have regrettably though understandably already pledged not to reverse Tory tax cuts, not to raise personal and corporate taxes, to stick to the Tory’s deeply flawed fiscal rules, to drop their green investment plan, and rule out rejoining the EU single market and customs union"
Yes - this leaves massive public spending cuts, greater than the ones carried out by Osborne and Cameron, as the only remaining option for Labour in power. Likely that these cuts will be aimed at local government, disability benefits and foreign aid, just like the Tories.
There's no other option on the table. And just like Cameron and Osbornes austerity, it will decimate public services and do nothing to stimulate growth. It will keep national debt down in the short-term, but in the long term the effect it will have on productivity will inhibit growth and lead to a worse fiscal position years down the line.
There's no real interest in resolving any of these questions from the Labour party right now, their priority is and will remain sticking it to the left, so long as they can do that they'll be perfectly content to preside over a nation in freefall.
Good, hard-hitting stuff. We should have invested when interest rates were low. Now all we have is a crumbling infrastructure.
Great article, Simon. In fact the situation with the UK is worst than it looks. The small cap market, which is a better barometer for the UK as these businesses are more UK facing, trades at a 25% discount to the US and 10% to Europe. Before Brexit UK small cap was at a premium to Europe and a much smaller discount to the US.
https://mailchi.mp/verdadcap/rule-britannia?e=740cd9174c
Thanks John. I intend to do a post soon looking specifically at the issue of the equity capital markets and what, if anything, can be done to address the problem...
Absolutely brilliant.
“bequeathing Labour in 1997 a golden legacy. “
I’m sorry but no, yes the Tory’s left Blair with low inflation and decent growth and they do deserve credit for that but they also left 20%+ youth unemployment, crumbling public services and real problems with long term unemployment, let’s stop pretending they were better than they were
I agree with every word. Thank you for contributing such a convincing account. As the next administration struggles to deal with all this, formidable commentators like you will be needed to remind the electorate of what the Conservative party did to the country.
I find the idea that low interest rates fuelled a rise in prices for assets very compelling, which then created a bigger divide in society. Having also worked for DJ I wonder what your opinion on how and if Murdoch management influence their journalist's output.
"In an effort to appease the press, Starmer and Reeves have regrettably though understandably already pledged not to reverse Tory tax cuts, not to raise personal and corporate taxes, to stick to the Tory’s deeply flawed fiscal rules, to drop their green investment plan, and rule out rejoining the EU single market and customs union"
Yes - this leaves massive public spending cuts, greater than the ones carried out by Osborne and Cameron, as the only remaining option for Labour in power. Likely that these cuts will be aimed at local government, disability benefits and foreign aid, just like the Tories.
There's no other option on the table. And just like Cameron and Osbornes austerity, it will decimate public services and do nothing to stimulate growth. It will keep national debt down in the short-term, but in the long term the effect it will have on productivity will inhibit growth and lead to a worse fiscal position years down the line.
There's no real interest in resolving any of these questions from the Labour party right now, their priority is and will remain sticking it to the left, so long as they can do that they'll be perfectly content to preside over a nation in freefall.
A fair assessment of 14 years of hubris, ideological idiocy, moral collapse, and blamestorming.
What a bloody mess.