UN agency records rising discontent in all regions and calls on policymakers to tackle unemployment and inequality urgentlyRising unemployment, inequality and a lack of decent jobs have helped fuel a rise in social unrest that threatens to intensify unless policymakers take swift action, the UN’s labour agency has warned.The International Labour Organization said its measure of protest activities around the world had ticked higher in the last year against a backdrop of economic and political uncertainty. In a downbeat report into global labour market prospects, the agency also predicted migration could rise over the next decade as frustrated jobseekers leave their countries in search of better prospects. Continue reading...

George Monbiot makes many good points (Farmers fear life outside the EU, but it could mean a rebirth for rural Britain, 11 January), including free markets’ impact on small farmers whose incomes fall in times of plenty. He could have said more on food security. Climate change, including gas escapes from frozen deposits, is a growing threat but pests, diseases, routine weather and even large volcanic eruptions (eg Tambora, 1815) can create havoc. So who is actually responsible for food security, here or abroad?“Britain can always import” is the reply despite a falling pound, but a recent Russian drought caused a grain export ban which could spread if global supplies struggled. Fisheries are exhausted, good British land is vanishing under development, yet nobody wants the bill for food storage. Instead surplus food yields quick profits via livestock feed, biofuels, brewing or even cosmetics.Related: Of course farmers fear Brexit, but it could save the British countryside | George MonbiotRelated: Your opinions: what the Brexit vote means for farmers and EU nationals in the UK Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s trade and immigration policies will protect big agriculture but leave smaller businesses to failThe most significant event in food and agriculture over the past year did not take place on our farms. Nor did it occur in our factories, in our restaurants or on our kitchen tables. It happened in the voting booth.Rural voters turned out in overwhelming support of Donald Trump, throwing a Hail Mary pass against the growing economic hardship felt by these communities. Caught in a toxic cycle of depressed commodity prices, rising debt and plummeting income, it comes as no surprise that American farmers voted en masse for change and the hope of different leadership with new ideas.Related: Will new FDA rules curb the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs?Related: Can we feed 10 billion people on organic farming alone? Continue reading...

Both are anti-immigration and pro-Russia. Without media support the British firebrand became an outcast. With Twitter and Fox, Trump became presidentUnderstanding the political success of the US president-elect, Donald Trump, is not easy. There have been many glib comparisons to populist politicians of the past, from Huey Long to George Wallace. But the most revealing comparison may be with a historical figure from another country: the British nativist firebrand Enoch Powell in the late 1960s and early 1970s.At first glance, the comparison might seem peculiar. Powell came from a lower-middle-class family. He was a classical scholar of true erudition and a man of principle. He was also a political insider, having served as an MP since 1950 and as the junior minister for housing in Anthony Eden’s government in 1955.Related: My new year forecast: Trumpian uncertainty, and lots of it Continue reading...

By prioritising protection and rebuilding of local economies the left can find a positive answer to voters’ concerns while challenging the extreme rightNext week will see protectionism take centre stage globally as the Davos elite gathers to vent about its rise, and the Twitter protectionist Donald Trump becomes US president.Yet there is a left, green alternative that could effectively challenge the rise of the extreme right, while giving voters hope for a better future. In my new book Progressive Protectionism: Taking Back Control, I detail why progressives should endorse the controlling of borders to people, capital, goods and services, but not as occurred in the 1930s, when governments attempted to protect domestic jobs while still wanting to compete and export globally at the expense of others.Related: Parody-defying World Economic Forum must do better Continue reading...

It is easy for the government to ignore the plight of this generation, but failure to act damages us allThe Conservative party has made a strategic decision to stuff young people. Not out of sadism, not because it derives vicarious thrills from inflicting misery on the next generation: the Tories don’t care because they have calculated that they don’t have to. The young are less likely to vote, goes their rationale, and they are certainly unlikely to vote for us. We can safely ringfence them for economic pain, balancing the nation’s books on their youthful backs, and we will suffer few political consequences for it.Short-termism doesn’t cover it. Britain’s destiny is now in the hands of a generation soaked in pessimism, scarred by economic insecurity and decline, demonised by politicians and press barons. It did not need to be so: it was a choice.They have stolen the essential of human existence, that which offers assurance at times of difficulty: optimismRelated: Theresa May's mental health pledges don't roll back years of Tory cuts | Hannah Jane Parkinson Continue reading...

Enrique Peña Nieto draws battle lines for changed relationship with the US amid fallout from Trump’s tiradesMexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has rejected any suggestions of his country paying for a border wall and pledged to sign an updated free-trade agreement with the European Union as he seeks to diversify the economy away from the United States.

Year-on-year sales for November and December were up 10%, boosted by 9% rise in gifts such as providing safe water for small communitiesOxfam has reported its highest sales for five years on the back of increased demand for secondhand clothes and ethical gifts.Healthy sales of Fairtrade goods such as chocolate and coffee helped the charity post a 10% year-on-year rise in sales for November and December, worth £17.2m. Continue reading...

Governor tells MPs fears over impact of Brexit vote have receded and EU countries face greater risk than BritainThe Bank of England looks set to upgrade its forecasts for the UK economy after admitting that some of the risks posed by the Brexit vote last June have now receded.

ONS figures show rise in manufacturing and energy in November, although record imports outweigh higher exportsThe pound has fallen to a fresh 10-week low against the dollar as Brexit fears and the prospect of a Donald Trump bounce for the US economy gripped the markets.For the first time since 25 October, sterling fell to almost $1.20 before it mounted a recovery after figures showed the UK’s industrial sector returned to health in November.Related: UK firms brace for further Brexit price rises, surveys show Continue reading...

Getting the measure of GDP | Finding rare ingredients | Nepotism in politics | Gabriel Jesus headline | Bees’ knees | Er, so, wellRe Aditya Chakrabortty’s article (One blunt heckler has shown just how much our economists are failing us, 10 January), GDP is a crazy measure for prosperity: a country’s GDP equals the aggregate income of its inhabitants. Therefore car accidents make us richer, because the income of repairers goes up. War contributes significantly to global GDP, as arms manufacturers make a mint and destroyed cities need rebuilding. And London’s highly paid financial specialists make a “healthy” contribution to UK GDP.

Rising income inequality and the polarisation of societies pose a risk to the global economy in 2017, says World Economic Forum.

Income gap was behind Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s victory, says World Economic Forum risk reportRising income inequality and the polarisation of societies pose a risk to the global economy in 2017 and could result in the rolling back of globalisation unless urgent action is taken, according to the World Economic Forum.Before its annual meeting in Davos next week, the WEF said the gap between rich and poor had been behind the UK’s Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election victory in the US.Related: WEF outlines global economic risks as Trump and Brexit loom – business liveRelated: Xi Jinping to become the first Chinese president to attend WEF in Davos Continue reading...

A study suggesting US citizens are more likely than Scandinavians to see inequality as fair could explain Donald Trump’s winAs Donald Trump prepares to move into the White House, you may still be wondering how the billionaire Republican managed to win the US election while simultaneously promising tax cuts for the richest and claiming to be on the side of workers.Academics in Scandinavia think they may have the explanation. It comes down to how far Americans are happy to accept inequality. Continue reading...

French presidential candidate says currency amounts to a ‘weak Deutsche Mark’ that has failed to unify EU states and stand up to the US dollarThe euro may not exist in 10 years’ time if Paris and Berlin fail to bolster the single currency union, French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has said, adding that the current system benefits Germany at the expense of weaker member states.

The group is also planning to plead guilty to criminal misconduct as part of a deal with the US Justice DepartmentThe Volkswagen group confirmed on Tuesday that it has negotiated a $4.3bn (£3.53bn) draft settlement with US regulators to resolve its diesel emissions troubles, alongside plans to plead guilty to criminal misconduct charges.The guilty plea is part of the deal to settle the scandal, as the carmaker looks to restore its tarnished global brand. Volkswagen (VW) said that, with the addition of the fine, its diesel scandal costs will exceed the nearly €18.2bn (£15.76bn) it set aside to handle the problem. VW added that it will face oversight by an independent monitor over the next three years. Continue reading...

Washington-based bank says policy uncertainty and protectionist tendencies could undermine pickup in 2017A tentative pickup in the global economy this year is at risk from the political uncertainty unleashed by Brexit and the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, the World Bank has said.The Washington-based organisation said 2016 had been the weakest year for the global economy since the deep recession of 2008-09 and expressed concern that protectionist pressures would continue to increase unless the pace of activity picked up.Related: Hard Brexit threatens global financial system, City chiefs tell MPs Continue reading...

A wave of hatred is sweeping Britain, with migrants blamed for a range of social ills. But migrants have not run down our public services, it’s not them that failed to build the houses our economy needs and they don’t cause a race to the bottom on wages or conditions. These are the results of political choices made by governments and corporations.In fact, the free movement of people can build our collective power and creativity in the face of attempts by the super-rich to turn the world into a gigantic marketplace in which we are all isolated individuals competing against one another. Fear and hate further drives this isolation and undermines our ability to cooperate. It allows the already rich and powerful who have done so much damage to our country to win. Continue reading...

Finance chiefs demand clarity on EU exit strategy as MPs hear concerns for tens of thousands of jobs if London loses euro clearing and passporting rightsBrexit poses a risk to the global financial system and could spark more than 230,000 job losses, senior City figures have told MPs as they called for clarity on the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

Boost in pensions is main driver of rising standards for low-income groups, ONS figures showThe gap between Britain’s rich and poor fell sharply last year after a boost to the incomes of the poorest 20% and a squeeze on the richest fifth.The Office for National Statistics said median disposable income for the poorest fifth of households had risen by £700, or 5.1%, in the year to April 2016, while the richest fifth of households saw their incomes fall by £1,000, or 1.9%, over the same period.

London index hits record high for ninth consecutive day, beating its eight-day run in May 1997 after Tony Blair swept to powerThe FTSE 100 reached another new peak on Tuesday and broke a near 20-year record for its longest run of closing highs.The index jumped 37.70 points or 0.52% to end the day at 7,275, its ninth consecutive day of closing highs, beating the eight-day run in May 1997 following Labour’s general election landslide under Tony Blair.

Industry figures add to signs that the economy ended 2016 strongly – although some analysts see slowdown aheadUK retail sales continued to grow at the end of last year as Britons made a late dash for Christmas gifts and festive foods, according to industry figures that add to signs the economy ended 2016 on a strong note.The British Retail Consortium (BRC) pointed to challenges ahead from rising costs and political uncertainty but said its members went into the new year having enjoyed solid sales growth over the crucial Christmas period.Related: Consumer spending slowed over Christmas period, Visa figures show Continue reading...

A booming Britain? Whose GDP do we mean, when the wealth gains of the past decade have all been in London and the south-east?There’s a lady I’ve been thinking about for the past few days, even though we’ve never met. She’s the central character in a true story told by the Europe expert Anand Menon. He was in Newcastle just before the referendum to debate the impact of Britain leaving the EU. Invoking the gods of economics, the King’s College London professor invited the audience to imagine the likely plunge in the UK’s GDP. Back yelled the woman: “That’s your bloody GDP. Not ours.”Subtle and learned this was not. But in all the squawking over the past few days about what’s wrong in economics and with the economy, her brutally simple criticism is closer to the mark than are most of the pundit class.Related: Economists have completely failed us. They’re no better than Mystic Meg | Simon JenkinsCameron’s legacy will be that there is no such thing as an economy Continue reading...

Which policies Trump will pursue remains unknown, to say nothing of which will succeed or what the consequences will beEvery January, I try to craft a forecast for the coming year. Economic forecasting is notoriously difficult but, notwithstanding the truth expressed in Harry Truman’s request for a one-armed economist (who wouldn’t be able to say “on the other hand”), my record has been credible.In recent years, I correctly foresaw that, in the absence of stronger fiscal stimulus (which was not forthcoming in Europe or the US), recovery from the great recession of 2008 would be slow. In making these forecasts, I have relied more on analysis of underlying economic forces than on complex econometric models.Related: Joseph Stiglitz: what the US economy needs from Donald Trump Continue reading...

Manufacturing and construction sectors air concern over rising import costs with companies facing ‘more risks than opportunities’ in 2017British companies are grappling with higher costs and bracing for further pressure in the months ahead as the start of Brexit talks threatens to drag the pound down further and ramp up the price of imports to the UK.Reports from the manufacturing and construction sectors on Monday point to a sharp rise in the prices paid for materials by firms in Britain and worries that their profit margins will be squeezed as they decide how much of those higher costs they can pass on to customers. Continue reading...

Spending fell 2.3% in December but was up for 2016 as a whole, with some raising concerns about mounting consumer debtConsumer spending slowed over the Christmasperiod, according to figures that suggest Britons shunned the high street in favour of online shopping and nights out.Spending fell back 2.3% in December from a strong November when Black Friday deals appeared to boost sales, figures from Visa show. That left consumer spending up 2.6% on the year, a slowdown from November’s growth of 3.1%.Related: Brexit worries and online stores hit shopping centre salesRelated: No one can afford to stop the new consumer credit crisisRelated: UK credit binge approaching levels not seen since 2008 crashRelated: No one can afford to stop the new consumer credit crisis Continue reading...

Wouldn’t today’s economists be better served by reading some economics history rather than relying on their models (Economics in crisis, admits Bank expert, 6 January)? JK Galbraith’s classic The Great Crash, 1929 details the things that contribute to a volatile, overheating economy, and in the foreword to the recent reprint, his son James, also an economist, notes the uncanny similarities in the build-up to 2007-08 to those before October 1929, particularly mentioning America, Britain and Iceland. But how far can economists be of help when the model is flawed and we have a government that is determined to sweep away all vestiges of Keynesianism and New Dealism and return our economy to the 19th century?

Economists have been found guilty of groupthink, guided by political ends and using error-prone gravity modelling. No wonder they crash back down to Earth

The Bank of England is too complacent about rising debt in households with stagnant incomes. But government dare not risk any slowdown in spendingConsumer debt has raised its ugly head again. According to the latest figures, the total has soared back to a level last seen just before the 2008 financial crash. To the untrained eye, the dramatic increase in spending using credit cards and loans might appear to prefigure a disaster of epic proportions.Excessive consumer debt played a big part in the collapse of Northern Rock, and looking back, this landmark banking disaster appears to have been the harbinger of an even bigger catastrophe when, a year later, Lehman Brothers fell over. Continue reading...

The Bank of England’s Andy Haldane is right to point to problems in economists’ training. But his capitulation to the critics went too farWhen the Bank of England looks around in a couple of years to replace Mark Carney as governor, Andy Haldane will need to work hard to win over the selection panel. The central bank’s chief economist can’t help attracting publicity, and not always in a good way.Last week he was in hot water following his capitulation to the bullying Brexiters and their claim that experts were dunces. He said it was “a fair cop” in answer to critics who accuse his profession of missing the financial crisis and misjudging the impact of the Brexit vote. Continue reading...

Former EU ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers ‘absolutely right to say replacement deal may take a decade to sort out’Britain risks a “catastrophic” Brexit because the government is so dismissive of the concerns of trade experts, according to one of the figures behind the EU-Canada trade deal which took a decade to negotiate.Related: As a trade negotiator, I’m shocked at Brexiters’ ignorance | Jason LangrishRelated: Sir Ivan Rogers quits civil service four days after leaving EU envoy role Continue reading...

In the final monthly update on US employment under President Obama, fewer jobs were created than forecasts suggested

The US job market is at least in better shape than it was in when he assumed office, just months after the collapse of LehmansSo that’s it. The last jobs report of Barack Obama’s presidency has been published and the figures encapsulate his eight-year presidency. Job creation in December was not bad at 156,000, simply a bit mediocre. Better was expected.In Obama’s defence, he was left the worse possible legacy. The world’s biggest economy was in freefall when he arrived in the White House in early 2009. Lehman Brothers had gone bust six weeks before the November 2008 presidential election and the Federal Reserve had taken emergency action to stimulate growth as fears grew that the clock was about to be turned back to the 1930s.Related: US wage growth shows Trump will inherit solid labour market Continue reading...

Barack Obama’s final figures show lower-than-expected job creation – but economy still added more than 2m jobs in 2016The US economy added more than 2m jobs in 2016 and finished the year with a pick-up in wages, suggesting Donald Trump will inherit a solid labour market from outgoing president Barack Obama.The news of the strongest wage growth since 2009 also raised expectations that the president-elect’s first year in office will be accompanied by a series of interest rate rises from the US central bank.Related: Obama's labour market report card: not bad, could have done betterPayroll employment rises by 156,000 in December; unemployment rate changes little (4.7%) https://t.co/1Y9cSWJUIB #JobsReport #BLSdata Continue reading...

Experts say employers will struggle to award pay rises if country cannot restore growth to pre-financial crisis levelsA slowdown in the UK’s already lacklustre productivity growth has prompted fresh warnings that households will face a squeeze on living standards this year.Jobs markets experts said employers will struggle to award pay rises that keep pace with mounting inflation unless the country can turn around its poor performance on productivity, a measure of what is produced per hour worked.Related: Chief economist of Bank of England admits errors in Brexit forecasting Continue reading...

The Bank of England’s chief economist has admitted errors in its Brexit forecast – how can the profession get out of its crisis?The Bank of England’s chief economist has admitted his profession is in crisis having failed to foresee the 2008 financial crash and having misjudged the impact of the Brexit vote. Andy Haldane said it was “a fair cop” referring to a series of forecasting errors before and after the financial crash which had brought the profession’s reputation into question.So what can the dismal science do to regain the trust of the public and politicians?Related: Chief economist of Bank of England admits errors in Brexit forecasting Continue reading...

On Brexit and the 2008 crash their predictions – distorted by politics – were utterly wrong. The profession owes the public an inquest and an apologyIt is official. Figures for the past six months show that the forecasts of instant Brexit catastrophe from the Treasury and the Bank of England were garbage. The Bank’s economist, Andrew Haldane, admitted yesterday that it was a repeat of the failure to predict the 2008 crash. It was another “Michael Fish moment”, when meteorologists failed to forecast the 1987 hurricane.Related: Chief economist of Bank of England admits errors in Brexit forecasting Continue reading...

The Bank of England’s chief economist Andrew Haldane describes the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 as his profession’s ‘Michael Fish moment’. In 1987 BBC weatherman Fish dismissed suggestions that a hurricane would hit the UK. It went on to cause widespread damage to parts of southern England

Claims that we are tiring of selfish consumption aren’t supported by the evidence. Without a fundamental rethink, nothing will changeIs this the year we finally get to grips with all our stuff? If so, it has been a long time coming. Forecasters and commentators say we have entered a new era where people prefer to share rather than own, and prize experiences over possessions. Retailers worry about the implications for them of a public sated on “peak stuff”. Official figures suggest that Britons are consuming ever fewer resources. And witness the worldwide success of the rationalisation bible, Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising.Related: If having more no longer satisfies us, perhaps we’ve reached ‘peak stuff’ | Will Hutton Continue reading...

Andrew Haldane says his profession must adapt to regain the trust of the public, claiming narrow models ignored ‘irrational behaviour’The Bank of England’s chief economist has admitted his profession is in crisis having failed to foresee the 2008 financial crash and having misjudged the impact of the Brexit vote.Andrew Haldane, said it was “a fair cop” referring to a series of forecasting errors before and after the financial crash which had brought the profession’s reputation into question.Related: Why has the UK economy defied predictions of doom?Related: Treasury's Brexit job loss claim a hoax, says Boris JohnsonRelated: 'The lull before the tsunami': economists on the Brexit watch dataRelated: Mark Carney's year in quotes: 'We are actors in a play written by others' Continue reading...

The justice secretary has promised a review. But she needs to change the lawLiz Truss, the justice secretary, did the right thing in ordering an urgent review into the best way of stopping abusers tormenting their victims through the family courts. It is entirely unacceptable that, as the Guardian has been reporting, some women face aggressive cross-examination by an abusive former partner (one was even made to sit beside her ex while the court watched a police video of her reporting an assault). There is, simply, no justification for this. No justification: but there are explanations, and they point to a solution higher up the food chain than the courts themselves.The immediate problem was widely predicted before Ms Truss’s predecessor Chris Grayling took the axe to his department’s budget. Legal aid is now denied in most family cases. The main exception is for a victim of domestic abuse. Ms Truss, who has already beaten austerity to get more money to increase the number of prison officers, would win the gratitude of thousands of individuals if she could also get funding to roll back the worst aspects of austerity in the court system. Cuts of more than 30% are crippling access to all sorts of justice. But in the family courts it can mean a renewal of old traumas; worse, a mistake can see a vulnerable child being put at risk of further abuse. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

There was talk of a Brexit vote plunging the UK straight into recession, but the economic news is upbeatFirst it was manufacturing. Then it was construction. Now the hat-trick of upbeat economic news has been completed by the strongest performance by the services sector in 17 months.It goes without saying that this is not what the Treasury or the Bank of England expected at the time of the EU referendum last June. At the time, there was talk of the economy plunging straight into recession.Related: UK services sector grows at fastest pace for more than a year Continue reading...

Survey finds new business and job creation picked up in December, but companies raised prices at fastest rate for five yearsBritain’s services sector grew at the fastest pace for 17 months in December, according to a survey that has raised hopes for a strong end to 2016 for the economy.There was also a pick-up in new business and job creation, according to the poll of firms from the UK’s biggest sector, which includes banks, hotels and transport. But news that companies increased their prices at the fastest pace for more than five years will intensify worries over the weak pound stoking inflation in the months ahead and raises the prospect of interest rates going up this year.The UK all-sector #PMI hit a 17-month high in Dec, signalling +0.5% GDP in Q4. Faster growth seen in services, manufacturing & construction pic.twitter.com/iFyKgiAxLs Continue reading...

Rise in EU steel tariffs among measures cited by ministry of commerce, amid fears that Donald Trump could hit Chinese goods with tariffs of up to 45%China has criticised “extreme” tariffs on its exports amid concerns in Beijing that Donald Trump will embark on a policy of protectionism as US president.Trump has pledged to hit Chinese goods with tariffs of up to 45% and said cheap imports are “killing” US manufacturers.Related: 'Brutal, amoral, ruthless, cheating': how Trump's new trade tsar sees China Continue reading...

The EU once thought big, introducing the euro and open borders, but now it’s the populists who are grabbing all the headlinesA few weeks ago, a significant anniversary in Maastricht slipped by almost unnoticed: 25 years ago, the historic treaty that ushered in the euro was drafted.But there was no fanfare, no commemoration in the European parliament, no mention at all by the commission. There was just a rather lacklustre speech by the EU president, Jean-Claude Juncker, in which he lamented that people were not sufficiently proud of what had been achieved on 9 December 1991. Continue reading...

While businesses in China are embracing the ‘pink economy’, their human resources policies aren’t embracing LGBT rightsRemember when the term “pink dollar” was first coined? It was one of the buzz phrases of the 1990s: a time of much change with regard to views on homosexuality in many countries. Lesbians were snogging on TV for the first time in Britain. In 1994, Australia passed a human rights act that finally scrapped the banning of gay sex. Meanwhile, there was a tornado of media coverage around the world of this “pink dollar”, as companies realised that a more open LGBT demographic was something they could lucratively market to.Twenty years later, China is finally sparking its own pink dollar moment. Last month China Daily, the state-run newspaper, ran a feature with the headline, “‘Pink Economy’ set to soar as companies target LGBT community”. It claimed the country’s estimated 70 million LGBT people represent a market worth $300bn per year. In comparison, according to Witeck Communications, a company specialising in analysing the LGBT market, the US equivalent is worth $790bn a year.Related: Why 2017 won't be the year women get paid the same as menRelated: Construction industry becoming increasingly gender-segregated, report findsRelated: Chinese transgender man wins landmark wrongful dismissal case Continue reading...

British businesses helped by fall in sterling, finds BCC survey, but inflation fears and Brexit uncertainty expected to slow growth this yearThe fall in sterling following the Brexit vote helped British business shake off a period of uncertainty to end 2016 on a high note as companies reported increases in export sales and orders. But the quarterly health check by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that business activity in the last three months of the year failed to rebound to historic levels, leaving companies worse off than a year ago.Related: Why the UK economy could fare better in 2017 than forecasters predictRelated: UK manufacturing growth at a 30-month high, says PMI surveyRelated: UK construction industry enjoys fast growth in new orders Continue reading...

Debt charities issue warning to government after unsecured consumer credit grew at fastest rate in more than 11 yearsA credit boom that is close to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crash should set alarm bells ringing in Theresa May’s government, debt charities have warned.The latest figures from the Bank of England show unsecured consumer credit, which includes credit cards, car loans and second mortgages, grew by 10.8% in the year to November to £192.2bn, picking up pace on the previous month to grow at its fastest rate in more than 11 years. Continue reading...

Shoppers are still pulling out the plastic, but borrowing may become less choice and more necessity as budgets are squeezedBritain went on a bit of a borrowing binge as Christmas approached. Unable to resist all the bargains on offer on Black Friday, shoppers pulled out the plastic. The rise in unsecured consumer debt in November was the biggest for more than a decade.News of the increase in consumer debt is not exactly a surprise. When the Bank of England cut interest rates in August last year, the aim was to making borrowing cheaper and therefore more attractive. The message came through loud and clear: UK households need little encouragement to buy on the never-never. Unsecured credit is growing at an annual rate just shy of 11%Related: UK credit binge approaching levels not seen since 2008 crash Continue reading...