Does Andy Burnham have any economic wiggle room?
The Rest Is Money
Jun 28, 2026
Paul Johnson, former director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, argues that current fiscal rules and manifesto commitments severely constrain the government's ability to drive economic regeneration. He warns that relying on 'financial engineering' to increase investment is not a free lunch and emphasizes that the UK's long-term fiscal looseness has already significantly inflated borrowing costs.
Key insight: The UK has run a looser fiscal policy than almost any other major economy since the financial crisis, resulting in a situation where the country now spends over £100 billion annually just on debt interest.
