The UK economy must take a long, hard look at itself | Larry Elliott

Britain has deep-seated problems demanding a strong restructuring plan. The only plan so far is patchy and flawed

A hung parliament. Inflation going up but growth slowing. A divided nation ill at ease with itself. Welcome back to the 1970s, like now a time when Britain was forced to take a long, painful look at itself.

Make no mistake, this is a good thing. Whether you are in favour of hard Brexit, soft Brexit, clean Brexit or no Brexit, it should be clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with the economy. The same old problems keep surfacing: too small an industrial base; too much debt; too great a geographical divide between the rich south and the rest of the country; too many poorly paid low-productivity jobs.