Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Brexit making levelling up even harder as the gap between London and most of the country widens.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Funny, I focused more on N Ireland being the other growth area, London is a given but why is N Ireland growing, could it be because it's in the single market...

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Boris warning higher wages mean higher inflation.

So the high skill, high wage economy was another lie?

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Be surprised when they tell the truth not when they lie, that is the way to deal with all politicians

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

How much skill does it take to mop a floor or push a letter through a post box, you can't pay high wages to everyone and those jobs still need doing

And letting them get away with it via cop outs such as this is why we're in this mess, besides which even if you accept politicians lie you wouldn't expect every single thing they said would be questionable like it is with bozo

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

That's pretty much the way inflation works. The clue is in the word itself.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

And those workers still have rent,mortgage,travel,energy and food to buy but this is stuff Boris has never had to worry about or pay for when he can get others to do so.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Careful … you’re exposing your limited understanding of economics a bit here.

A high skill, high wage economy (sans high inflation) is achieved by productivity improvements and rebalancing the economy so more of its output is high-value goods and services. Much easier to say than to do, but it is possible and it is a valid policy objective.

A wage-inflation spiral is a different beast altogether, with each measure increasing in response to the other. We spent a chunk of the 1970s and 80s stuck there. Avoidance of that is another valid policy objective.

There is no inevitable link between high wages and inflation. It’s the cause of the high wages that’s of interest.

Naturally, you may take issue with how likely present government policy is to deliver an economy whose productivity levels and goods values could support high wages. Low productivity is a British disease, which with regards to the latest OECD forecasts, has been a persistent problem of ours for decades.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

I fail to see how it’s a limited understanding of economics to point out that it’s a complete pipe dream and this Government has no interest in developing a high wage economy that benefits the vast majority of people in it. However that’s no real surprise. As long as London is alright I suppose. They can keep the proles distracted with culture wars.

I’m intrigued at how they propose to stimulate the market for “high value goods and services” while trade barriers increase and the UK gets poorer.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Except you didn’t point that out - you drew a false equivalence between two related but distinct policy objectives, in a perfunctory, Twitter-friendly, two sentence post that, if it didn’t expose your own ignorance, sought to exploit that of others.

Discussion of how likely the present government is to achieve its high-wage aim is legitimate but besides the point you were trying to make. Whatever that was.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

I’m not sure it can legitimately be described as a false equivalence. As you describe they are absolutely related policy objectives. Neither policy exists in a vacuum.

If the Government position is that the vast majority of workers should accept real terms pay reductions to reduce inflation longer term then that’s the exact opposite of creating a high skill, high wage economy. It’s a race to the bottom. Which you well know.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

Ok, once more …

Pursuing high wages as a result of an economy exhibiting high productivity of high value products and services, and resisting wage demands resulting from inflationary pressure, are not contradictory positions. It really is that simple. You are the only one here that seems confused about it.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

And giving workers pay cuts in real terms puts downward pressure on wages in these hypothetical “high wage, high skilled” jobs. These jobs don’t exist in isolation exempt from the rules of the employment market.

Pursuing high wages as a result of an economy exhibiting high productivity of high value products and services is merely a soundbite if the underlying economic conditions don’t support it and the rising cost of living erodes any benefit.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

As I said - discussion of how likely this government is to deliver on that policy aim is perfectly valid. Just besides the narrow point you tried to make earlier.

Re: Britain outside the EU
 

I’m at a loss why you replied at all given you acknowledge the link a few posts later.

The pretence that living standards across the board are unrelated to high wage jobs does little for your own economic literacy.