Below is the top-line summary of my media coverage for June 2022.
In my fortnightly Conservative Home column – 28th June – I discuss how wage-price spirals work.
I wrote for CapX – 28th June – on why lifting the bankers bonus cap is the right thing to do for the City of London.
I was quoted in The Mail on Sunday – 26th June – about how it would be constructive for the Bank of England’s remit to be reassessed, as well as how its committees interact.
I wrote an op-ed in The Sun – 26th June – on how it is imperative that the Prime Minister unveils his economic vision and the Chancellor cuts taxes.
I was referenced in The Spectator – 23rd June regarding pushing back against the Treasury’s groupthink.
I was quoted in the New Statesman – 22nd June – on whether Brexit was to blame at all for the UK’s inflation spike. The answer is no. I also make the point that the key year for the UK economy in recent decades is 2008. Economic growth plummeted in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and has remained low since – and that highlighted a whole host of issues, none of which would have been addressed or would likely be solved by staying in the EU. I also add that whenever we’ve had a general election, or political turmoil, one of the key things is businesses quite naturally put things on hold. In 2016, we not only had a referendum, we then had a three-year political crisis. It’s hardly a surprise that many firms put their investment plans on hold.
I was quoted in the Mail on Sunday – 19th June – regarding debt servicing costs. I make the point that the Treasury is right to be concerned about the rising cost of debt service but this shouldn’t be used as an excuse to cut Government spending elsewhere, or to not cut taxes.
I was quoted in The Sunday Times – 19th June – about how at least Rachel Reeves, the Labour shadow chancellor, says you have to be pro-worker and pro-business — she’s got that mantra. This Government doesn’t actually go out there and say, ‘We’re pro-business’, and then it doesn’t back it up with flagship policies that reinforce that it’s pro-business.
I wrote an op-ed in The Times – 16th June – in which I argued among other things that low growth does not imply high taxes. The best plan to reduce the ratio of debt to GDP steadily, over time, is through stronger growth, as we saw after the Second World War.
I was referenced in The Daily Mail – 13th June – regarding fiscal policy.
In my fortnightly Conservative Home – 14th June – I argue the current high rate of employment is welcome, but it casts light on the need to make headroads now into a number of areas. Addressing the productivity puzzle requires more people in well paid work, and this has to be part of the pro-business, pro-growth strategy that the economy needs.
I was quoted in The Sun – 13th June – about Boris Johnson listening to the Treasury too much.
I was quoted in FT Adviser – 10 June – about how the Chancellor’s £15 billion package, while welcome, will not be enough as interest rates are being raised too late and demand in the economy is falling. I noted that here is a current debate as to how to describe this, as economic forecasts tend not to suggest there will be two successive quarters of negative growth – the technical definition of recession – nor that the UK’s annual rate of growth will dip below zero. However, in my view, two negative quarters of economic growth looks inevitable and a deeper downturn is possible.
I was referenced in the i – 10th June – as one those who warned the Treasury to move money out of the QE reserves and into gilts.
I was referenced in BBC News – 10th June – that the UK should’ve locked into low rates, borrowing more longer dated debt and not over reliance on QE to fund the deficit.
I was referenced in the Financial Times – 08th June – regarding the Government’s desire to go for growth.
I was referenced in The Telegraph – 09th June – regarding how the Government should have acted to offset the impact of high fuel prices.
I was quoted in The Guardian – 08th June – about the need for Boris Johnson to pull some fiscal policy levers.
I was interviewed on Channel 4 News – 08th June – alongside Torsten Bell about whether taxes can be used to stimulate growth.