A few short years after the financial crash, oil, food and flights were affordable again. But this downturn looks much darker
Watching the Conservative party candidates spray money around as they vie to win the keys to No 10, it seems churlish to ask where the cash will come from. Running a 21st-century economy is not cheap and, unfortunately for those in power, gets more expensive every year.
More immediately, to prevent a cost of living crisis translating into a calamity this winter for low- and middle-income households, a bigger bailout is on the cards.
Treasury officials are under no illusions that rising energy bills, coupled with the extra cost of food and travel, will force the next chancellor to dig deeper than their predecessor to fund generous energy subsidies. Tax cuts, if the Liz Truss bandwagon rolls to victory, will only add to the need for extra borrowing.
