The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer’s ‘mini budget’ on 23 September launched a Growth Plan for the United Kingdom involving tax cuts and support for energy bills. Its purpose was to raise trend growth and liberalise the economy via an increase in borrowing.  Instead, it led to a financial crisis with a sharp decline in the value of the pound, significant rises in UK government gilt yields, a risk of pension fund insolvency and the need for intervention by the Bank of England. The Chancellor was removed and, subsequently most of the tax policy proposals were reversed by his successor. The impacts of the crisis will feed through into household and business budgets during the coming year. There have been both economic and political consequences, including the departure of another prime minister.

This event looked at what happened and why.  How could an advanced democracy, with sophisticated expertise and deep historical knowledge, deliver such a remarkable policy failure? What are the lessons for future policy makers around the world?  

Speakers:
- Charles Bean (British economist and Professor of Economics, LSE. Previously Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Bank of England and Chief Economist at the Bank from 2000 to 2008).

- Alexander Evans (Professor in Practice of Public Policy, LSE. Previously Strategy Director in the Cabinet Office and adviser in 10 Downing Street).

- Stephanie Flanders (Senior Executive Editor for Economics at Bloomberg and head of Bloomberg Economics. Previously BBC Economics Editor from 2008 to 2013).

- Gene Frieda (Senior Visiting Fellow at the School of Public Policy, LSE. Gene is an executive vice president and global strategist based in London and currently serves as a rotating member of PIMCO’s investment committee).

- Tony Travers (Associate Dean of the School of Public Policy, LSE and Director of LSE London. He is also Chair of the British Government@LSE research group).

https://www.lse.ac.uk/school-of-public-policy/events/2022-23/The-UK's-2022-autumn-economic-crisis-why-did-it-happen-and-what-next

The UK's 2022 Autumn Economic Crisis: Why Did It Happen and What Next? (Tuesday 1 November 2022)

Stuart Hoddinott, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government, set out key findings from Performance Tracker – the IfG’s annual stocktake of nine key public services – ahead of a panel discussion on how public service performance can be turned around. 

Adam Boulton, former Political Editor of Sky News
Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council
Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government (Chair)

Ending the decline: how to fix public services

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New tracks tagged #Kwasi Kwarteng