How big a fiscal hole is the British government in? With Paul Johnson
03/24/25 • 31 min
The UK’s Labour government had already inherited a tricky fiscal situation when it came to power last July. But since then, growth has stagnated, borrowing costs have risen, and now the government has committed to a big increase in defence spending. Where will the money come from? The FT’s Sam Fleming interviews Paul Johnson, the long-time director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent think-tank that has been adjudicating the UK’s public finances for more than half a century. As Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spring Statement on Wednesday, should she break her government’s pledge not to raise personal taxes?
Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his latest features and columns here.
Subscribe to The Economics show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The UK’s Labour government had already inherited a tricky fiscal situation when it came to power last July. But since then, growth has stagnated, borrowing costs have risen, and now the government has committed to a big increase in defence spending. Where will the money come from? The FT’s Sam Fleming interviews Paul Johnson, the long-time director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent think-tank that has been adjudicating the UK’s public finances for more than half a century. As Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spring Statement on Wednesday, should she break her government’s pledge not to raise personal taxes?
Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his latest features and columns here.
Subscribe to The Economics show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.
Presented by Andrew Hill. Produced by Edith Rousselot and Laurence Knight. The editor is Bryant Urstadt. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Martin Sandbu writes a regular column for the Financial Times, which you can find here. It includes recent columns on Berlin’s about-turn on debt spending, and the economic choice facing Germany.
Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.
Presented by Martin Sandbu. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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