Wages are rising in Britain, but so are prices and taxes
Meanwhile, benefits are being cut, crimping disposable incomes
BRITAIN, PROCLAIMED Boris Johnson, the prime minister, is a country in transition, away from “the same old broken model” to a “high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity” economy. On October 6th, addressing the party faithful gathered in Manchester for the Conservatives’ annual conference, he promised that workers would soon begin to feel better off. Wages are indeed rising. But so too are prices. Moreover, payroll taxes are due to rise in the spring. And on the same day as Mr Johnson’s speech the main working-age benefit, universal credit, was cut by £20 ($27.10) a week. Britons look set to experience a tight squeeze on disposable incomes in the months ahead.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Flattened”
Britain October 9th 2021
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- What Sarah Everard’s murder means for the Metropolitan Police
- Britain’s welfare state offers little protection for workers
- The lamps are going out all over Britain
- Britain’s trees are being felled by diseases
- The Tories are deadly serious about levelling up
From the October 9th 2021 edition
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