ELECTION SPECIAL: The UK economy since 2008 | IFS Zooms In 

Productivity has been low since the mid 90's, its and issue with businesses and boards they just have chosen to invest less in favor of dividends and payouts first. What we need is a change in behavior and ideology more long-term thinking.

We now have former High Street Banks whose UK footprint is so small they now only have one or two office blocks. Their infrastructure is based outside of the EU/EC in countries like India.

No mention of IR35 - which was a Labour Law - which crushed those people who went freelance as the PLCs offered Gross Salaries as fees - thus, the PLC avoided Employers NI

Informative stuff. Thank you, IFS.

No mention of Intra Company Transfer visas and their effect on UNDER-Cutting of the UK Going Rate for the Skill - eg IT slills

There's more return in property than producing. Problem is it's a zero sum game.

For the public to be talking about the economy instead of Farage's prejudices is a huge improvement.

Good to see these issues treated as facts without political spin.

Great episode

Would there be a problem with freezing spending increases... Bring energy prices down by no tax on the energy extraction sector.. cut migration to 80 thousand a year so it replaces the difference between 60 to 65 year olds retiring and 15 to 20 year old coming into the job market.... Freeing up the energy market would keep inflation down..so no need for more government spending... what would be wrong with this if it was applied for the next decade?

Yeah. Same here in the EU. In Spain, the economy is pretty fragile. Petrol and fuel are an identical price to the UK yet accomodation is more expensive than the UK outside of London. People earn around two thirds of the UK. I'm a Brit. I live in Spain with my Spanish wife.

The performance of the UK economy since 2008 has not been terrible! In terms of real GDP (at PPP constant prices) and real GDP per capita (at PPP constant prices) we have outgrown all but 2 of the G7 countries. Only the USA beat the UK on both measures. We have grown at a slower rate than before 2008, but so has every member of the G7. Both the IMF (to 2029) and OECD (to 2060) forecasts for economic growth show the same picture going forward.

With the question of the increase in NEET's you should look at the impact of the ending of the European Social Fund. The last batch of this funding ended in March. Good to hear your analysis of UK economic performance.

Good to hear that income inequality has fallen, the rich are being taxed a lot more, corporates are paying a lot more, more people are buying their own homes than they were in the final years of New Labour. Still, it was unfair to use 2008 as the base year for measuring GDP per person, as we lost 7% of our GDP in 2008-09. We were hit far harder than other countries. If we used 2010 as the base year, surely that would make a difference.

Employers do not like Employing people - so the death of TRAINING /RE-Training / CROSS-Training - Employers want to avoid Employers NI

The UK needs those Off-shored UK jobs back on-shore and rapid!

Where is the data? Comparisons to other relevant data? Charts? This would be the best podcast ever if they could articulate there statements with data to back it up... without that its just another think tank group that may have self interests... prove me wrong... I expect way more from the IFS from all people

Let's use the simple model of circular income flow taught to A Level students and BS/BA Undergraduates in Econs 101. If withdrawals or leakages exceed injections, the economy will lose income and vice versa. What sort of withdrawals/leaks and injections the UK economy experiences can be studied using the National Economic Accounts. We need to carefully scrutinize the Fiscal situation, the savings in the domestic financial system, Current Account, Capital Account, Trade and overall Balance of payments to determine where the inflows and outflows make a circular impact on national income computation.

What happened to all the new green jobs that are required? Heat pumps, boilers, insulation, wind power construction, EV chargers et al

As you say the thresholds for income tax are frozen so that is a tax increase. Whatever the majority the next government is heading for a really rough time politically as people will continue to feel worse off. Coupled with that are the unexpected shocks and the expected shocks such a major water company going bust.

the UK's current state can be attributed to several key factors: Decades of mismanagement by successive governments: Both Conservative and Labour administrations have made short-sighted decisions prioritizing short-term political gains over long-term national interests. Austerity measures: Severe budget cuts implemented after the 2008 financial crisis have gutted public services and infrastructure. Brexit: The decision to leave the EU has caused significant economic disruption, trade complications, and political instability. Wealth inequality: A system that increasingly favours the rich has led to a widening gap between the wealthy and the rest of the population. Outdated economic model: The UK's reliance on financial services and a service-based economy has left it vulnerable to global economic shifts. Lack of investment in education and skills: Failure to adequately prepare the workforce for changing job markets has led to skills shortages and unemployment. Housing market failures: Decades of underbuilding and treating housing as an investment rather than a basic need have created a severe housing crisis. Political short-termism: Politicians focusing on election cycles rather than long-term planning have led to inconsistent policies and lack of strategic vision. Media influence: Sensationalist media has contributed to social divisions and misinformation. Loss of industrial base: The decline of manufacturing has left many regions economically depressed. Resistance to change: An inability to adapt quickly to global economic and technological changes has left the UK lagging behind in key areas. These factors have combined to create a perfect storm of social, economic, and political challenges that have significantly impacted the quality of life for many UK residents.

Austerity. Which led to Brexit.

Three Self induced crisis by the people at the top!

Your economic experts might do worse than read irelands first program for economic expansion published in 1959 when I was a student chartered accountant. That is the foundation plan for irelands remarkable economic progress in recent years. Ireland has little by way of natural resources. Yet over 60 years the economic progress has been truly remarkable helped by the low rate of corporation tax thereby attracting much foreign investment. This idea originated as profits on export sales of manufactured goods would be tax free which was the attraction for many multinationals producing high value low volume goods like computer parts, pharmaceuticals, health care products to set up plants in Ireland after Ireland joined the eu. The cost of shipping abroad was insignificant. I could go on but I have been blessed beyond measure by prof whittakers vision in 1959 and to see all 4 of my grandchildren in graduate well paid jobs is a special joy. David McCabe Dublin.

20:31 they have said they won’t increase the big 3… this means you could for example align CGT to income tax, and charge ni on dividends, wealth taxes on property etc….

GDP per capita = immigration as a meaningful factor. Rachel Reeves is pinlnocchio as they all are. Of course big 3 taxes will go up. A not insignificant number of the top 10% of tax payers are also leaving ... we joined them and are astonished by the number of business owners in our new geography who had simply had enough of the tax burden they've taken on in the past 12 years. They simply felt uk didn't offer prospects for growth and aspiration. I think we'd have borne that but when Starmer started saying women had a penis we decided life was too short to argue biology. His Stert position is that 35k women in the UK have a male appendage - rock on 🤘

'Why has the UK performed so poorly?' This was a question regularly asked in the early 1970s. Answer: Because it was not a member of the EU, or the EEC as it was then designated.

Brexit was never going to be an economic success it was about the UK regaining it's sovereignty and the ability to control immigration, Economists seem unable to understand this.

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This waffle does little to explain why I work more, have less and everything costs more.

You guys claim to be neutral but you are obsessed with higher taxation. That is not a neutral position. The tax burden is massive already.