In April UK inflation actually turned negative for the first time since 1960!! Another term for negative inflation is deflation, a term which gets all economists running for the hills, so the government would rather use the term negative inflation to avoid any undue panic!
The inflation rate (the Consumer Price Index) fell to -0.1% in April and Chancellor George Osborne was quick to accentuate the positives of this negative inflation, saying that the lower cost of living which is mainly being driven by last years fall in oil prices would help the average family with their budget and he claimed that, with the slowly improving wages across various sectors, the feelgood factor would soon return to the UK.
The inflation rate is expected to stay low for the next few months at least with an estimated rise to about 2% by the end of the year.
Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie of course saw the whole scenario in a completely different light and claimed that the majority of UK families are still struggling to pay the bills and these deflationary figures could reduce business enterprise, productivity and growth which would lead to even worse standards of living.
It all depends on if your glass is half full or half empty (or if you are Tory or Labour/UKIP/Lib Dem/Green/SNP!) as to whether you think the economy is running along the right lines. Certainly the government have kept the deficit under a modicum of control, but you could argue that their continual cost cutting measures have dampened down the economy and not allowed for the growth that could have helped us come out of the recession at a lot faster rate.
The most damning aspects of the last 5 years have been the ever increasing gap between the haves and have nots, the cuts to legal aid and legal services, the cuts in the benefits system, the proliferation of food banks as more and more people fall through the safety net, the cuts in the NHS and welfare services.
Many solicitors and legal experts are saying that the legal service is on the verge of collapse due to the huge cuts throughout the system, including cuts to legal aid, fees, court administration etc. People are not going to court and letting people and companies who should be prosecuted off the hook or they representing themselves, but badly.
It is a tough old world out there and it is important in these times to try to develop a sense of community and help as many people as you can. What doesn`t kill us makes us stronger.
No comments:
Post a Comment