As Rachel Reeves puts the finishing touches to her Spring Statement, she is faced with what it is no exaggeration to call a triple whammy of crises.
First there is a growth crisis. Since last June, the data we have suggests GDP has decreased by 0.1 per cent. Crucially, over the same period, growth in GDP per capita – the best measure of whether living standards are improving and the yardstick against which Sir Keir Starmer has said his Government’s economic success should be judged – has been negative. The stark truth is that month by month the average British family is currently getting poorer…..