UK economy set to grow faster than any other western economy

Conrad

grizzly1911 wrote: »

That is the underlying problem that doesn't seem to get much air time. Conveniently ignored.

I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand I'm a tub thumper for getting borrowing very much lower and living within means, but on the other hand it has to be acknowledged we've coped with a larger proportion od debt in the past, for example after WW2.


Shocking factoid I heard the ONS mention - under David Mellor the NHS spent £40bn in todays money, the figure now is £114bn:eek:

This reflects the British entitlement disease imo and surely something is going to have to give.

zagfles

Conrad wrote: »

I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand I'm a tub thumper for getting borrowing very much lower and living within means, but on the other hand it has to be acknowledged we've coped with a larger proportion od debt in the past, for example after WW2.

We "coped", but with real austerity, not the supposed "austerity" of the last few years. There was food rationing until 1954!

Shocking factoid I heard the ONS mention - under David Mellor the NHS spent £40bn in todays money, the figure now is £114bn:eek:

This reflects the British entitlement disease imo and surely something is going to have to give.

NHS spending always goes up in real terms mainly due to new expensive treatments and drugs etc.

antrobus

mayonnaise wrote: »

Uk has been running a current account deficit since most of us were born. No issue unless the deficit would spiral out of control together with a shrinking GDP. Which is not the case.

Apparently not.

Trading Economics shows the data going back to 1946. It shows that the UK current account was basically in balance throughout the post war period up until about 1988. That would be the Lawson boom. (Oops.) Ken Clarke managed to get things sorted and we were running a surplus in 1997. And then came Gordon Brown and OMG did we see some big deficits.

Our problem with the current account is really a more recent thing and another facet of New Labour's poisoned legacy.

For data see:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/current-account

mayonnaise

antrobus wrote: »

Apparently not.

I stand corrected. I was muddling current account and budget deficits

CLAPTON

antrobus wrote: »

Apparently not.

Trading Economics shows the data going back to 1946. It shows that the UK current account was basically in balance throughout the post war period up until about 1988. That would be the Lawson boom. (Oops.) Ken Clarke managed to get things sorted and we were running a surplus in 1997. And then came Gordon Brown and OMG did we see some big deficits.

Our problem with the current account is really a more recent thing and another facet of New Labour's poisoned legacy.

For data see:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/current-account

Of course one could see the poisoned legacy as that of the collapse of manufacturing and associated exports from 1980 onwards.

The effect on the trading account was somewhat hidden by the government of the day pumping north sea oil and gas out as if there was to be no tomorrow.

antrobus

CLAPTON wrote: »

Of course one could see the poisoned legacy as that of the collapse of manufacturing and associated exports from 1980 onwards.

The effect on the trading account was somewhat hidden by the government of the day pumping north sea oil and gas out as if there was to be no tomorrow.

Manufacturing has been on a declining trend in most Western countries; the decline in UK manufacturing was, of course, almost three times faster under New Labour (1997-2010) than under the various Conservative administrations (1979-1997).