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| My views on economic policy and the banking crisis. I'm campaigning with the Christian Socialist Movement on bank reform to separate risky banking from the banks which handle retail deposits. |
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| Almost all economic forecasts are bunk... |
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| The impact of the Tory-LibDem Coalition's first Budget. |
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| The leadership candidates need to remind themselves and the public that the deficit was caused by responsible action in dire straits, but also prepare a progressive economic policy without simply opposing everything. |
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| Unfortunately, the new Government's economic policies are entirely what they seem. Labour needs to be wise about how it oposes them. |
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| The moral compass at the heart of each party's economic policies should be studied carefully. Christian Socialist Movement, 28 April 2010 |
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| New data will train a spotlight on the economy this week, but should not knock Labour's narrative off course. |
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| The Budget will put Labour values into practice, while the Tories are hidebound by outdated dogma |
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| The Channel 4 debate between the three men who want to be Chancellor after the General Election contained no fireworks. However, it did give us a sense of how the debate on the economy might pan out during the campaign. |
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| President Obama's bank plan is a good one and Britain should follow suit. |
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| Labour must grasp the nettle of separating banking activities |
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| Gordon Brown's G20 speech was bold – but we need to go further and separate risky banking activities from retail.
Guardian Comment is Free, 10th November 2009 |
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| News about large bank bonuses is shocking and it demonstrates that the banking system still needs reform. A progressive party such as Labour should be up to the task. Progress Online, 21st October 2009 |
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| The financial crisis we have just been through caused a sharp and deep recession. For the first time for a generation, the global economy itself shrank slightly. For tens of millions of people around the world that has meant unemployment. Compass Online, 19th October 2009 |
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| With stock markets reaching new highs and some banks recruiting again there is the distinct impression that things are going back to "business as usual". Guardian Comment is Free, 14th October 2009 |
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| If we cannot prevent another financial crisis, banks should pay the taxpayer an insurance premium. Progress Online 18 April 2008 |
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Time
Period |
Economic
Measure |
Annual
Change |
Consumer Prices
2005 = 100 |
July 10 |
114.3 |
+3.1 |
RPI
1987 = 100 |
July 10 |
223.6 |
+4.8 |
Unemployment
% adult workforce |
June 10 |
7.8% |
+0.3 |
UK Trade Balance
£billions |
June 10 |
-3.3bn |
Info |
Public Debt
% of GDP |
July 10 |
56.1% |
Info |
Public Borrowing
£billions |
July 10 |
3.8bn |
Info |
Info from the Office for National Statistics.
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