The Latest Breaking News from Geoffrey Howe

As Rachel Reeves prepares to unveil her measures, we look at how five of her predecessors broke the mould

In early August 1979,  Peter Cropper, a special advisor to newly-installed chancellor of the exchequer, Geoffrey Howe, sent a memo to colleagues. They should, he warned them, "stop being so downbeat. The world economy may be gloomy but there's absolutely no need for us to be gloomy."  

Economists soon saw through Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s plans for billions of unfunded tax cuts to benefit the rich

In 1981 Thatcher took the drastic but successful step of increasing taxes by 2% of GDP to tackle interest rates and inflation. But Truss has just done a reverse-Thatcher, says Oliver Hartwich

Many Liverpudlians reject their national identity in favour of civic pride

What we are about to get is the exact opposite of Thatcherism: an inflationary boom where we try to live beyond our means, but delivered with Thatcheresque determination, writes Sean O’Grady

What we are about to get is the exact opposite of Thatcherism: an inflationary boom where we try to live beyond our means, but delivered with Thatcheresque determination, writes Sean O’Grady

Sunak and Truss have no grasp of how low personal taxation is now – or how much a battered Britain needs public spending

Select band of economists back Liz Truss’s tax plan, but Rishi Sunak’s team say it could cost homeowners £6,600 a year