On Friday 08th November, I gave a keynote speech at the Annual Conference of China International Finance Society in Beijing. The other foreign keynote was by Jeffrey Sachs. I discussed the world economy and the future of UK-China ties. One particular observation was while senior Chinese officials dislike President Trump’s sanctions policy, there was no moralising. Instead the focus was on controlling its own domestic policy.

I spoke to Sky News (from 08:17 minutes), noting that a risk premium has not been added to UK assets but markets are wary of the economic and borrowing numbers – and how far rates will fall.

The Chancellor began her Budget speech by putting it in a historic context, citing 1945, 1964 and 1997, three years in which Labour regained power in the post-war period. The only other year in which Labour also achieved that was 1974, and while the Chancellor did not cite this year it may be more appropriate than the others. The 1970s, like now, were a difficult backdrop for the economy, in an increasingly turbulent world.