Here’s another feel-good seasonal story. Inflation’s (sort-of) fine if your income or the value of your investments keeps up with prices. Without the union power we had in the last big inflationary decade, the 1970s, that works only those at the top who can vote themselves big pay rises, or temporarily for those in scarce supply, currently hospitality, driving and anything else we used to get foreigners to do. And the trouble is, adding 20% or even 50% to £9 an hour doesn’t buy you many more brussels sprouts, for the Christmas dinner you’ll probably be serving someone else.
“UK slips into recession as economy contracts 0.1% in December”
This week’s big economic and bad election news is that we are, or certainly have been, officially in a recession. You may not have thought you were, or you may have thought you have been for some time, as we and its effects are all different.