The financial promises that do not add up: a study commissioned by 'The Independent' exposes serious flaws in parties' tax and spending pledges

Article Abstract:

Britain's largest accountancy firm Cooper and Lybrand Deloitte provided an impartial assessment of the fiscal prospects for the new government. The report 'The Fiscal Reality Gap' investigates the parties' tax and spending claims. The true situation is that public finances are in a worse state than admitted. The PSBR is difficult to forecast but Coopers' 'optimistic case' uses similar assumptions to the Treasury's. To join a single European currency by 1997 Labour or Conservative would probably need to increase taxes to reduce PSBR to 3% of GDP. The report considers Conservative claims about Labour pledges exaggerated.

Economic policy, Political aspects, Labour Party (United Kingdom), Conservative Party (United Kingdom), Fiscal policy

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The price of a stable housing market

Article Abstract:

There are clear signs of the beginnings of a significant upturn in the UK housing market. The Bank of England now expects house prices to rise at double the rate of earnings, and there are some indications of one-off rises in demand, similar to the impact of financial market liberalization in the 1980s. It is now time to consider ways of making housing supply more responsive if the UK is to avoid having to increase interest rates to deal with a rapidly rising housing market.

United Kingdom, Residential Buildings, Residential Building Construction, Market information - general, Economic aspects, Residential construction, Column, House buying, Home buying

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