How big a fiscal hole is the British government in? With Paul Johnson
The Economics Show24 Mars 2025

How big a fiscal hole is the British government in? With Paul Johnson

The UK’s Labour government had already inherited a tricky fiscal situation when it came to power last July. But since then, growth has stagnated, borrowing costs have risen, and now the government has committed to a big increase in defence spending. Where will the money come from? The FT’s Sam Fleming interviews Paul Johnson, the long-time director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent think-tank that has been adjudicating the UK’s public finances for more than half a century. As Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spring Statement on Wednesday, should she break her government’s pledge not to raise personal taxes?


Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his latest features and columns here.


Subscribe to The Economics show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(129)

The US-Iran war has not triggered a food crisis — yet. With Adam Hanieh and Susannah Savage

The US-Iran war has not triggered a food crisis — yet. With Adam Hanieh and Susannah Savage

When the US and Israel started bombing Iran earlier this year, market watchers eyed the oil markets nervously. But as the price of crude oil climbed, so did the price of another key commodity produced...

17 Juli 27min

The economics of weight loss, with Rebecca Diamond and Claer Barrett

The economics of weight loss, with Rebecca Diamond and Claer Barrett

In the western world, richer people tend to be thinner – especially women. But does wealth make people thin, or does being thin make them wealthy? And could the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Mounj...

10 Juli 29min

Why didn’t the Iran war cause a recession? With Tyler Goodspeed

Why didn’t the Iran war cause a recession? With Tyler Goodspeed

When Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, economists were panicked. Several warned that a prolonged closure of the chokepoint could trigger a recession. After all, that’s what oil shocks do. But no reces...

3 Juli 32min

 How to win at AI (if you’re not the US or China), with AI minister Kanishka Narayan

How to win at AI (if you’re not the US or China), with AI minister Kanishka Narayan

When the US government banned a top AI lab from exporting its newest models, the world took notice. Export controls forbidding foreign access to Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable systems locked most of the...

26 Juni 39min

China wanted western tech. Now, the tables have turned. With John Minnich

China wanted western tech. Now, the tables have turned. With John Minnich

For decades, China accelerated its industrial development through a straightforward bargain: foreign firms invested in China, often through joint ventures, gaining access to the enormous Chinese marke...

19 Juni 42min

Brexit at 10: What comes next? With Anand Menon

Brexit at 10: What comes next? With Anand Menon

Just before the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, the Treasury (and others) warned the consequences would be catastrophic. GDP would fall and unemployment would rise, Sterling would dip and gover...

12 Juni 29min

The US-China decoupling fantasy, with Jessica Chen Weiss

The US-China decoupling fantasy, with Jessica Chen Weiss

Everything looks to be going China’s way: Beijing has a stranglehold on the world’s critical minerals, and its high-tech manufacturing has rapidly become world-leading. Its massive trade surplus is un...

5 Juni 32min

How to win a trade war, with Paul Krugman and Chad Bown

How to win a trade war, with Paul Krugman and Chad Bown

In a reversal of roles, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman steps into host Soumaya Keynes shoes to quiz her and co-author Chad Bown about their new book "How to Win a Trade War", and the lesso...

29 Maj 30min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

badfluence
framgangspodden
dynastin
varvet
rss-borsens-finest
uppgang-och-fall
svd-tech-brief
avanzapodden
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
fill-or-kill
rss-dagen-med-di
tabberaset
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
borslunch-2
borsmorgon
rss-veckans-trade
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
bathina-en-podcast
rss-dominoeffekten
rss-hos-psykologen