A bank holiday weekend with the Olympics reaching their conclusion. A very good time to bury bad news.
Just in cased you missed it, the UK economy has ground to a halt. The economic growth recorded in the first quarter of this year was precisely 0%. The government says that the economy is suffering from the effects of global pressures. Actually, it's suffering from ten years of Gordon Brown's economic policy. Manufacturing output actually fell - it was only a modest rise in the service sector that edged the UK out of negative growth. And it means that the UK economy has grown by only 1.4% over the last year.
Meanwhile, inflation, at 4.4%, is well over the 2% target rate – and even that is on the rosy Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure. Inflation measured by the old-style Retail Price Index (RPI) is higher, and many individuals and groups, such as the elderly, face higher inflation still.
Yes, thanks to the government's news 'grid' you may not have noticed it, but finally it has arrived: say 'hello again' to stagflation.
