Chancellor accused of being ‘continuity Rachel Reeves’ and giving ‘dire and dreary speech’ as JLR announced 4,000 job losses Chancellor to argue UK economy can ‘turn corner’ despite bond market turmoil Healey says Andy Burnham set out in his statement to MPs last week what he thought had gone wrong The fundamentals of our economy [were] hollowed out through a series of past policy decisions, political power was centralised, weakening the relationships between the people, the businesses and the institutions who can make things happen beyond Whitehall. The economic enablers were privatised and outsourced, leaving accountability to a thicket of arm’s le
ngth bodies and regulators, too often without the predictability or the pace that underpins a thriving market economy. And our country was deindustrialised as the cost to make anything, to build anything here soared, and our dependence on unreliable sources grew, including in areas critical to our national security and sovereignty. Let me be clear, I recognise that the costs of business, its energy bills, regulation, burdens, planning constraints, labour costs, have grown since Covid and I want to draw the line. And whether it is the cost of business or the cost of living, the only way we deal with these in the long term is growth. Continue reading...