Good news on #electricvehicles as #BMW decide to continue the production of the Electric Mini in Oxford, suggesting all is not lost for the #electriccar sector in the UK's automative #manufacturing despite fears around market access to the EU.

I'm sure #JeremyHunt will claim this all his or #KemiBadenoch's doing, while 'forgetting' that the problems around this decision were related to #Brexit.

Still, good news especially for the #workers whose jobs now seem secure!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/11/bmw-u-turns-on-plans-to-move-electric-mini-production-from-uk-to-china

The problem for #JeremyHunt in trying to claim #political kudos from a 'fall in inflation', is that for most people there is ether #inflation or there isn't, they care little about shifts in the rate and only attend to the prices they experience.

As Johnny Runge (KCL) puts it:
'Many will not believe that inflation has fallen or the government pledge has been achieved, because they will not feel prices have fallen — because they haven’t'!

Oh dear...

Aha, the #Tories are exploring ways of cutting non-pension #benefits in the run up to the next #election to give #JeremyHunt the fiscal headroom to cut #taxes.

For anyone who has ever argued that #voting has little effect, the higher incidence of voting among pensioners seems to give them a degree of 'protection' unavailable to other classes of people in need of state support;

and don't forget, the #tripplelock will ensure state pension rises will nearly match #inflation, unlike most #wages

Unsurprisingly, as #JeremyHunt thinks absence from the labour market due to #longtermsickness is the major underlying cause of shortages of #workers, the #Tories are looking to reform work capability assessments so as to 'encourage' more of the long term sick back into work;

they think this is helping people who aspire to get back to work to find appropriate work, critics see this as a vindictive targeting of the vulnerable.

Given the #Tories moral record, I'll leave you to decide which?

Well that didn't last long:

at the start of the day #JeremyHunt declared the #Tories would 'spend whatever it takes' to deal with the schools buildings crisis.... but by the end of the day its clear that actually there would be no new money & the Dept. Education would need to take the funds for remedial work from their existing budget(s).

So, yes (as I posted a couple of days ago), just one more Tory bit of attrition on publicly funded #education.

Or perhaps better:
more bullish*t from Hunt

#JeremyHunt under fire after #Treasury says no new cash to fix #RAAC in #schools

Chancellor had pledged to ‘spend what ever it takes’ on #ConcreteCrisis but repair costs will come from existing #education budget
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/03/jeremy-hunt-under-fire-after-treasury-says-no-new-cash-to-fix-raac-in-schools #ToryPoliciesInAction #MoneyBeforePeople

"Jeremy Hunt under fire after Treasury says no new cash to fix Raac in schools"

This should come as no surprise, given that it does from a zombie government.

Kick the can down the road, and leave it to the next administration to sort out the mess. Hunt et al. are daring Labour to make a funding pledge, not least as no one knows how much it will cost to deal with the problem.

#Raac #CrumblyConcrete #Labour #JeremyHunt

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/03/jeremy-hunt-under-fire-after-treasury-says-no-new-cash-to-fix-raac-in-schools?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I hear Jeremy Hunt on TV saying that the government will ensure safety of government buildings. However a whistle blower seems to contradict his statements about how important the government saw this: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/02/ministers-were-dangerously-complacent-on-school-safety-whistleblower-reveals

#RAAC #Schools #UK #JeremyHunt #conservatives

Now the dust has settled on the #ONS data revisions, the euphoria of #JeremyHunt looks a little misplaced... the overall revision is upwards, but the detailed figures show:

while #services output has been considerably raised, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and oil & gas extraction have all declined.

So, in the earlier data, since #Brexit, #agriculture had increased by 11.7%, but now has dropped by 7%

& the iron & steel sector from a rise of 56% between 2019-22 to a decline of 66%!

You will have heard that #JeremyHunt thinks that labour market participation is a major problem for the UJK - too few of us are available for work... but our participation rate is above France & the US, a little below Germany but really that different at all.

The problem of course is #productivity; whether due to a lack of capital #investment, bad management, or weak training/education (or all 3), we need more #workers in work because productivity is low(er) than our economic competitors.

Economic activity is down as #inflation drives down sales volumes, the BoE's #interestrate policy is explicitly aimed at 'damping down' the economy & real wages continue to stagnate/fall....

So you wont be surprised to know that a #recession now looks likely for the Autumn.

Cue: #JeremyHunt & #RishSunak telling us that 'if its not hurting its not working'... & the 'price is worth paying' to defeat inflation.

But, as always its not them or their mates hurting or paying the (acceptable?) price

Around 17% of the UK's population have used deferred #credit and/or #BuyNowPayLater facilities in the last 12 months.

We know that #BNPL firms are targeting the venerable (including those on #NHS waiting lists), and there is a growing issue of the penalty payments & aggressive recovery strategies used by providers.

But having committed to 'act swiftly' in Feb 2021, #JeremyHunt & the #Treasury still have yet to propose any regulatory action(s) or try to get them into law.

Why might that be?

Interestingly as #JeremyHunt demands that the FCA levies heavy fines on #banks that have debunked people for political views, FCA chief Nikhil Rathi observes banks are under no obligation to provide business accounts (which is a 'policy matter' for the Govt.).

So its clear how the #NigelFarage case will be distinguished from those organisations who have been held up as previous examples of debunking that have had little political traction; unlike Farage these will have been business accounts!

#JeremyHunt oversaw signing of #SanMarino low-#tax treaty backed by #ToryDonor

Exclusive: #MaurizioBragagni, who has given over £700k to Tories and £30k to chancellor, attended event
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/01/jeremy-hunt-oversaw-signing-san-marino-low-tax-treaty-tory-donor-maurizio-bragagni #ToryCorruption

Right everyone: time to start thinking about the runners & riders for the forthcoming #RishiSunak reshuffle....

with such a shallow talent pool I think we can expect some revivals & some survivors moving their incompetence from one portfolio to another...

What lucky ministry will get #SuellaBraverman, I wonder?... and where might #JeremyHunt take his smugness next?

And who knows;
#KemiBadenoch for Chancellor?

But, its all a but like re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, isn't it?

You knew it was going to happen:

#JeremyHunt is requiring the public sector to 'find' £2bn of 'savings' so he can offer a 6% pay rise to public employees (to try to avoid strikes).

So, the next stage of #austerity in the pubic sector is going to be driven by & blamed on #workers (legitimate) request to see their wages rise.

It may change its name & its reasoning (and find new people to blame) but its the same old #Tory policy: shrink the state.

#GTTO before the cause even more damage!

#JeremyHunt & #AndrewBailey (from the BoE) have been out & about again arguing for 'wage restraint' to tackle inflation....

OK, you bozos read my lips:

WHAT WE NEED IS PROFIT RESTRAINT!

Either these two cannot understand what is actually happening, or they don't want to understand & would rather just impoverish #workers rather than ask companies to show some restraint in setting margins.

If you thought the #Tories are running the county for your benefit, they've hoodwinked you, I'm afraid!

After Nigel Farage's spurious claims to have been victimised by Coutts (no, he just dropped below the income/wealth threshold for holding an account with them), I see the ever opportunistic #JeremyHunt has decided to force a formal review (and potential relaxation) of the Politically Exposed Persons' regime that underpins aspects of #financialservices vetting for accounts...

Now, why would a member of a corrupt political party frequently in receipt of oligarch's cash want to do that I wonder?

I see once again #NigelFarage has got the #Tories doing his bidding, as #JeremyHunt says that the Govt. will investigate #banks (supposedly) withdrawing banking facilities from people with unwelcome (controversial?) views.... there are so many more things they could investigate the banks for, but oh no, once Nigel goes on #socialmedia bleating, the #Tories spring into action.... FFS

Its sort of consistent but it also feels unjust; allowing #tax thresholds to remain frozen via 'fiscal drag', #JeremyHunt has ensured that those #strikers & #workers who do manage to achieve pay rises (#inflation matched or not) there is the danger that they will find some of that rise taken by the tax at a higher rate;

more & more of us are becoming higher-rate taxpayers which on one level will help fund the state but on the other seem like over-taxing many just above average earners!