Austerity U-turn

DURING the general election both Labour and Tory parties with the help of some media mocked Plaid Cymru and SNP anti-austerity plans and the call to borrow to increase spending to build more homes. After the election the new Labour leader jumped on the same bandwagon, the Tories and some parts of the media still mocked that same plan. Fast forward to today and the new Chancellor Phillip Hammond has said he will prioritise spending on new homes and transport rather than following his predecessor George Osborne’s aim to balance the books by 2020. He told the Conservative conference the deficit was still too large and would need to be tackled in due course. He said Brexit vote may cause “turbulence” and business confidence would be on a “bit of a roller coaster”. He is now jumping the nationalist bandwagon, while knocking the Brexit vote. Mr Hammond rejected claims there was now little difference between the Conservatives and Labour on economic policy.
The Tory government was incredibly complacent over weak domestic productivity, with Mr Hammond it has already lost the most important battle over continued membership of the EU’s internal market.