Not the headlines Rachel Reeves was hoping for as she gears up to deliver her Spring Statement tomorrow. A KPMG survey finds that over half of Brits believe the economy is worsening, with a mere 10% thinking Labour is steering it in the right direction. 58% now say the economy is on the wrong track, up from 43% in December. Households are slashing spending and boosting savings, hitting growth prospects even harder. Guido has been closely following the impact of Reeves’ business bashing budget…
Meanwhile, manufacturing output fell in the three months to March, at a steeper pace than in the three months to February, according to the Confederation of British Industry. Reeves has a £15 billion hole in her budget thanks to higher borrowing costs and downgraded growth forecasts (not helped by her own tax-and-spend policies). Reeves’ ‘not-an-emergency-budget’ isn’t likely to do much to restore economic confidence…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”