Afternoon all, British economic policy making is in one of its chaos phases. I’d like these to come a bit less often. ‘I wouldn’t start from here’ isn’t generally the most helpful response to a request for advice. But don’t discount it in all circumstances. There are times when it’s more useful than others i.e. … Continued

Afternoon all, I generally thank my lucky stars that I get paid to keep up with economic and political developments. It’s a massive privilege. But it’s also impossible right now. Another week of ups and downs in the gilt market is translating into the real world: interest rates on some fixed rate mortgages are hitting … Continued

Afternoon all, I hope you’re all holding it together amidst a truly chaotic week. Appreciate it’s hard to keep up and you’re probably already saturated with reading things about the madness, so we’re aiming to provide some light relief with reads that don’t cover floundering pension funds or rising interest rates (though this is a good … Continued

Morning all, Apologies that TOTC is late – even later than I warned last week. If it’s any consolation I’m being punished by an involuntary couple of hours triathloning this morning, which us just what you want after a 24-hour stint number crunching the Chancellor’s massive statement yesterday. Hopefully I won’t sink quite as fast … Continued

Afternoon all, Sorry to leave your inboxes empty last Friday, but rightly the focus very much wasn’t on economic policy. The missing TOTCs would have covered the new Prime Minister’s very large Energy Price Guarantee, the full Resolution analysis of which is belatedly now out for the keen among you. The unprecedented running together of … Continued

Afternoon all, This weekend marks the end of several eras. Most importantly for the nation the school holidays, as the joys of combining work and the school run return. Selfishly I’m more focused on another era coming to a close – the one called ‘youth’ (my twin and I turn 40 on Sunday). The only … Continued

Afternoon all, It’s good to be back after a very pleasant few weeks in the Alps. Walking steeply rising paths has been much-needed relief from looking at charts of ever more steeply rising energy prices. And it’s good to see you’ve all really been pulling your fingers out while I was away – truly impressive … Continued

  Afternoon all, I’m down in Cornwall for a wedding so train strikes are rather dominating the updates on who has/hasn’t made it. It’s like a (lower than normal consequence) game of Russian roulette, but that’s preferable to being back in Westminster watching ministers manufacture outrage at the shock news that workers might not love … Continued

Afternoon all, Today is a good day, because today is a sweat-free day. And it’s been a good week if you’re Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss – or at least it probably feels like it has, given that Tory MPs have given them the golden tickets into the run-off to be our next Prime Minister. … Continued

Afternoon all, How huge should tax cuts be is the one and only big debate in the Conservative leadership contest so far. No, wait a second, there’s also the one about who can use which toilet. So that’s the big challenges facing the country sorted… But the contest still has almost two months to run … Continued

Afternoon all, Well that wasn’t the week I was expecting. In so many ways. I briefly thought the importance of policy/decision taking continuity lay behind my seven year old’s surprisingly strong view this morning that Boris Johnson must stay as PM until a successor’s in place. But detailed probing about his constitutional opinions revealed a … Continued

Afternoon all, Another great week for persuading the kids that politics is a serious business. Putin’s advising the PM to drink less to reduce his weight, and (presumably?) the PM’s wishing his MPs would drink less to reduce their resignation rates. Basically, British politicians should keep their hands off other people’s bodies, and Russian leaders … Continued

Afternoon all, Nature is healing. Just as flora and fauna nature returned to Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster, so the Lib Dems are re-emerging in the South West after their 2015 meltdown. The scale of the swing towards them yesterday in Tiverton is obviously a by-election special, but it reflects a wider trend of the region swinging … Continued

Afternoon all, The thing about 2022 is it always surprises you. This time last year no-one saw double digit inflation and rapid rate rises coming, and I for one did not see the PM’s ethics advisor resigning over… tariffs on Chinese steel. But you live and learn. Maybe for some people consistency with WTO rules really … Continued

Afternoon all, Sorry to miss you all last week, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that a week checked out from British economics/politics was very pleasant indeed. Flying back from Greece on Monday was suspiciously smooth so I’d largely discounted all the headlines about British transport/political chaos. But we landed just as four-in-ten … Continued

Afternoon all, You’re all hybrid working and the PM’s into what you’d politely call the ‘hybrid truth’. Fed up with being left out, I’ve gone for a hybrid TOTCs this week: a swift special on yesterday’s energy bills support package and then a few quickfire reads to get you through the gaps in your Jubilee … Continued

Afternoon all, You know what the police need? Some economists. The Met have apparently spent £460,000 on their partygate investigation (to bring in fines of £12,600) – god knows how, given the British press did the evidence gathering for them. How much can it cost to show a suspect the front page of the Mirror … Continued

Afternoon all, The only people having a more expensive week than Downing Street staff are crypto investors – commiserations if you’re in either camp. The crypto crash is at least a reminder that it’s best to avoid ponzi schemes largely unregulated high-risk products. On reflection, avoiding people selling high-risk products in politics isn’t a bad rule of thumb either … Continued

Afternoon all, Temperatures are on the up. So are interest rates. 2022 is all about monetary policy climate change sweeping advanced economies, with the Bank of England’s fourth hike in a row yesterday taking us to the heady heights of 1 per cent. I know we’re all desensitised to high inflation chat, but if their … Continued

Afternoon all, I’ve been across the Atlantic this week, but it’s been good to see you’ve all been trying really hard to maintain Britain’s reputation while I’m away. Explaining our porn-perusing politicians, or the fact our Social Mobility Commission chair (who obviously hasn’t met the Resolution team…) thinks girls can’t do “hard maths”, to Americans has … Continued

Afternoon all, Hope everyone had a decent Easter break. I’m a massive fan of this whole sun shining thing: Britain’s a good place to live. Unfortunately, our politics and economy haven’t quite got the Briton rocks message. The Queen’s 96th Birthday should have been a good time to celebrate ideas of public service and duty, … Continued

Afternoon all, Yesterday the Government announced plans for eight new nuclear power stations. In the olden days this was big news; now it’s already off the bulletins. The news that’s actually gone nuclear is of course the Chancellor’s wife being a non-dom. That choice seems like madness from a political perspective – there are so few … Continued

Afternoon all,   All April Fools gags are rubbish, but today’s combination of temperatures plummeting as energy bills surge might be the worst yet. A new Resolution Foundation note shows the number of households in fuel stress (spending at least 10 per cent of their budgets on energy) will double to five million as a … Continued