Britain’s debt crisis: why the crash might be inevitable

Britain’s economy is heading for trouble. The government is running record levels of debt, growth has stalled, and no chancellor seems willing to make the hard choices. Michael Simmons writes the cover of the magazine this week. He discusses with Freddy Gray and Paul Johnson, former director of the IFS and provost of Queen's College, Oxford. // CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction 00:43 – Britain’s unsustainable debt 02:17 – Rachel Reeves’s tax plans 03:56 – Why spending never comes down 07:48 – The pensions timebomb 09:21 – Gilt yields and market jitters 11:26 – Landlords, housing and tax 14:02 – Should Labour raise income tax? 15:59 – Millionaires leaving Britain 17:45 – Stagnation vs crash 18:52 – Why a crash might be necessary Michael Simmons, The Spectator’s economics editor, joins Paul Johnson, provost of Queen’s College, Oxford, to discuss whether Britain is on the brink of another crash – and why politicians of all parties refuse to confront the truth. // SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPECTATOR Get 12 issues for £12, plus a free £20 John Lewis/Waitrose voucher https://www.spectator.co.uk/tvoffer // FREE PODCASTS FROM THE SPECTATOR Hear more from The Spectator's journalists on their podcasts, covering everything from the politics of the UK, US and China, to religion, literature, lifestyle and more. https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/ // FOLLOW US   / spectator     / officialspectator     / the-spectator     / spectator1828     / thespectatormagazine