But a prudent chancellor would keep some money in the bank so that he could do something about it. |
On this basis, the doubling in the oil price since 2003 will have knocked something like three quarters of a percentage point off GDP growth during this year alone. |
The Chancellor is blaming the UK economic slowdown on the recent spike in oil prices and the weakness of the European economy, but this is unrealistic, |
The problems were plain to see at the time of last year's pre-Budget report in December, but instead of addressing them then, the Treasury chose to dress up the UK finances for the election. |
The simple fact is that he'd already run out of money this time last year, |
The Treasury can't have it both ways. They can't expect us to pay higher tax, fuel and utility bills while keeping the economy afloat by shopping in the high street. |
We are certainly not out of the woods yet. Growth is still well below par - just hitting the euro-zone average - and with consumer spending dropping and the pressure piling on exports to take up the slack, we could be in for a bumpy 2006. |
We are certainly not out of the woods yet. Growth is still well below par -- just hitting the euro-zone average -- and with consumer spending dropping and the pressure piling on exports to take up the slack, we could be in for a bumpy 2006. |
We expect interest rates to remain at 4.5 percent until the end of the year, but another rate cut cannot be ruled out. |
With the election well out of the way, the chancellor's forecasts have taken a step back towards reality. |
[Immigration] has been an elixir for the economy. They have rejuvenated our workforce and made it much more mobile. |