vivweb01

Editors note: I first compiled this blog in late 2022 in the aftermath of the ignominious fall of 'Trussonomics' and before the advent of AI. Many of the ideas are still very relevant today, so a revisit with recent developments in mind at a time when AI is really starting to affect our workplaces is probably appropriate.... Introduction This has been a momentous couple of months all told, with more than the usual quota of economic and political U-turns, a new war in the middle east, and probably more to come that we don't yet know about. The ‘new’ Labour regime’s primary task after taking office in 2024, was to act on their manifesto promise of 'restoring some sense of stability' and preventing the economic meltdown which they claim beckoned…. Did this actually happen ? I'll let the reader answer that particular question themselves. In the light of the widely predicted Labour 'rout' in the May local elections, the electorate would seem to have given...

I first published this mini-review in July 2022 - and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, with a new and highly unpopular government in place and already faltering.  The employment situation has worsened significantly since then due to the NI surcharges leveled by Reeves on Business in October 2024 and the follow-up tightening of labour legislation, substantial rises in the minimum wage and large hikes in Business Rates in 2025.  These tax-raising measures have already hit private industry hard, with many SMEs, particularly in the enterteinment and hospitality sectors already forced out of business. I've recently updated the article to reflect recent developments and the prospects for our economic recovery; unfortunately these are pretty dire, given Reeves' repeated attacks on our only true wealth-creating sector . There has been little or no progress on addressing our low productivity and the high benefits-dependency amongst our working age population. Unem...

In short – it stifles incentive and enterprise, thus reducing our nation's productivity and its capacity to generate wealth..... Let me try to explain.... The Covid pandemic, Brexit, and more recently the worldwide ‘cost of living crisis’ have undoubtedly put a huge strain on many western economies since the start of the decade, and the UK is no exception.  The many billions gobbled up by pandemic costs and the UK's furlough scheme in particular were but one example of the financial challenges we faced, and the debt incurred will still have to be paid for somehow.  Raising taxes was a logical response during the first years of the pandemic in an attempt to pay down some of our mounting debt. Maintenance of ultra-low interest rates and effectively ‘printing money’ via quantitative easing was another means adopted to try and soften the immediate economic blow in the late 2010s, but unfortunately had the effect of making the economy appear far more robust than it actually was...