“Productivity in Britain is so poor that it takes UK workers five days to produce what Germans make in four, the Chancellor admitted yesterday. Announcing billions of pounds to tackle the issue, Philip Hammond said Britain’s ‘productivity gap’ was ‘well known, but shocking nonetheless’. Mr Hammond told the House of Commons that the UK ‘lags behind’ the US and Germany by 30 per cent – meaning workers are nearly one-third less productive than their counterparts in those countries. UK productivity is also lower than in France and Italy.” – Daily Mail
Sketch:
Comment:
Editorial:
>Today: ToryDiary: Sing along with Big Phil. Reasons to be cheerful. One, two, three…
>Yesterday:
“Philip Hammond dropped all three of the fiscal rules adopted by his predecessor as he approved extra borrowing which will push public debt to its highest levels since the mid-1960s. The chancellor intends to borrow another £122.2 billion over the next five years. The extra borrowing is equivalent to more than a year’s health service spending and will mean the total government debt will rise to £1.95 trillion by 2022, equivalent to £72,000 per household… All three of George Osborne’s fiscal rules would have been broken if they had remained in place, the Office for Budget Responsibility said.” – The Times (£)
Pensions:
The Opposition:
Comment:
“Philip Hammond has succumbed to the fatal caution of the Treasury. A rare chance has been wasted. Britain must now face the full storm of the Brexit downturn next year and the year after without any precautionary buffer worth the name. A hard landing is all but guaranteed. If the Chancellor had wished to launch a barrage of investment on the country’s rickety infrastructure and do something to lift productivity from the bottom ranks of the OECD league, there could scarcely have been a better global climate. All the stars are aligned.” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
“Philip Hammond’s first autumn statement will also be his last, the chancellor announced yesterday in a significant rejig of the fiscal year. From next year the budget, the government’s main annual financial statement, will be in the autumn, with a smaller spring statement in response to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic forecasts. Mr Hammond said that “after careful consideration and detailed discussion with the prime minister” he was “abolishing the autumn statement”.” – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Hammond abolishes the Autumn Statement
“During his last Budget speech in March, the then Chancellor George Osborne infuriated Eurosceptic Tory MPs when he suggested the supposedly impartial Office for Budget Responsibility was in favour of remaining in the EU. Osborne was accused of ‘politicising’ the so-called independent OBR when he declared it backed his view that leaving the EU would ‘wreck Britain’s economy’. The OBR, under its chairman Robert Chote, made no effort to contradict the Chancellor. Last night, as the political row intensified over the OBR’s gloomy forecasts, there was a growing view on the Tory benches that Chote is still fighting Osborne’s battles on the EU.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
Editorial:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Autumn Statement – and why forecasting a cost of Brexit is bunk
“European nations must fall into line with Britain and fulfil their defence spending commitments to avoid souring relations with the US, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, told Theresa May yesterday. His warning came amid concerns that Donald Trump could scale back America’s commitment to Nato. The US president-elect branded the alliance “obsolete” during the campaign and indicated that the US would not rush to help an ally that did not meet the spending target. “I want to keep Nato, but I want them to pay,” Mr Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania in July.” – The Times (£)
More US:
Comment:
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Hundreds of thousands of British expats are set to be granted the right to carry on living on the Continent after Brexit after the majority of European Union countries signalled they were ready to do a “reciprocal rights” deal with the UK. Senior Government figures have told business leaders that only “a few” of the 27 EU member states are left to agree the outline of a reciprocal rights agreement for Britons in the EU, and EU nationals living in this country for when Britain leaves the EU. The Government said no deals had yet been struck, but the closeness of an informal understanding is leading to speculation that any deal will be announced at a key EU summit in Brussels next month.” – Daily Telegraph
“In the days following the vote, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, declared that Britain had just ‘collapsed — politically, economically, monetarily and constitutionally’. Five months on, Britain is in a stronger position than Rutte and co. would have believed possible. Since the referendum, the British economy has grown faster than that of the eurozone. The government is now led by a Prime Minister who is as secure in her job as any of her EU counterparts. Theresa May can walk into the Brexit negotiations knowing that she has several aces in her hand.” – The Spectator
“Pornography websites that show ‘non-conventional sexual acts’ could be blocked in a tough Government crackdown. Internet service providers could be forced to block sites hosting content that would not be certified for commercial DVD sale by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Ministers were embroiled in a censorship row last night amid fears they were seeking to ban online porn videos showing activities that are legal for consenting over-16s.” – Daily Mail
“The Conservative chief whip has declined to remove a tarantula called Cronus from his office despite a House of Commons ban on pets. Gavin Williamson, appointed by Theresa May as her parliamentary enforcer in July, has spoken in recent days about his unusual deskmate, who is kept in a glass tank and named after a Greek god who castrated his father and ate his children. However, the publicity means the pet has come to the attention of the serjeant at arms, since Palace of Westminster rules state that the only animals allowed on the estate are guide and security dogs.” – The Guardian