2014 Budget Report

It hasn’t been all good news, but the economic backdrop to the 2014 Budget statement was certainly more positive than it was when the Tory-Lib Dem coalition came to power nearly four years ago. On the upside, the UK economy and its employment levels have both grown since 2010. On the downside though, British exports have fallen; and although average pay has increased slightly, it continues to lag behind an inflation rate of 1.9%. As a result (and perhaps foreshadowing the speech he would make on the 19th of March), Chancellor George Osbourne told business leaders back in February that his 2014 Budget would be one “… where we must confront our problems and deal with some hard truths.” Read more on the coalition’s fifth Budget statement in our report available here.