Article 2X75M While Hammond looks for a magic money tree, Labour has found one | Larry Elliott

While Hammond looks for a magic money tree, Labour has found one | Larry Elliott

by
Larry Elliott
from on (#2X75M)

If the chancellor is to fund higher spending without increasing borrowing, he will need revenue - step forward, Prof Avinash Persaud

For Spreadsheet Phil, the numbers look bad. Growth is weakening. Higher inflation means debt interest payments are rising. The recent election showed a nation heartily sick of austerity. There are pressures for higher public-sector pay.

The one big initiative announced by Philip Hammond in his year or so as chancellor was to move the annual budget from the spring to the autumn. Preparatory work for the first of those will begin in earnest over the summer, and nothing so far has suggested that Hammond will be in a generous mood. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Related: Post-Brexit UK economy demands a new type of Robin Hood tax

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