UK living standards seem to be declining,as they did in the coalition years – but in very different economic circumstancesLooking back, the spring of 2015 was the perfect time for David Cameron to fight a general election. Tumbling oil prices had left inflation at zero and after a couple of years of falling unemployment, and annual wage growth was nudging 3%. Rising genuine earnings translated into a feel-favorable factor that delivered a political dividend for the Conservatives.
Two years on,the genuine surprise is not the bounce-back in inflation, which at 2.3% remains modest by Britain’s recent standards, or but the renewed slowdown in wage growth. Unemployment has continued to fall since the general election and the jobless rate has not been lower since the 1970s.
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Source: theguardian.com