Andy Haldane interview: **The financial situation is precarious - the penny hasn't dropped in No 10** 'The penny has not yet fully dropped, including in Downing Street. You see that in us having the highest borrowing costs in the G7, despite not having the highest debts and deficits 'It’s the old [Ernest] Hemingway thing, isn’t it? How do you go bankrupt? First slowly, then very quickly. 'Keir [Starmer] lost the dressing room. Andy’s biggest risk is that he loses the dealing room. And then that’s an even more painful way to go, as Liz Truss would tell you.' **Britain is at or close to being taxed out** 'The truth is, as a nation, we are at or close to being taxed out,” he says. “And we are at or close to being maxed out in terms of borrowing. 'So for me, the economics of this are very straightforward. We have a public sector, a government sector with a balance sheet whose productivity has failed to rise this century. And we have a private sector which is actually primed, its balance sheet is in good shape. 'If you want good growth in every postcode — dear God, I want that as much as the next man, probably just as much as Andy in fact — the root is by unlocking those animal spirits and that means a smaller state, lower taxes and that means lower government spending and tough choices around that' **The economy could 'crater' without spending cuts** “This is not a hypothetical risk. Look across the Channel, not just to what’s happening in France, but what’s happening in Greece or Italy or Portugal or Spain a decade and a bit ago. Avoid that like the plague 'Because when you are forced involuntarily into making much more draconian cuts to appease financial markets and get them back on side that will, one, crater the economy. And, two, almost certainly crater your popularity 'That for me is the peril that comes from prevarication on this front. The peril that comes from not using up political capital and making hard choices' **A 'mañana' Budget does not speak to the urgency of now** 'The public finances dimension is of course a real concern for me. I feel the time to get on top of that is now because who knows what might turn up tomorrow. And a mañana budget doesn’t speak to the urgency of now 'The mañana choices will not be easier tomorrow. They’re going to be much harder. So backloading them, crossing your fingers and hoping that the weather turns, for me would not be the preferred course, would not be the prudent course, and risks next year being even more of a heavy lift than would otherwise be the case' **Banking taxes are 'penny wise, pound foolish'** 'The point that actually weighs with me most heavily is that this isn’t just about the banks. If you are felt to be a country that is in the business of doing windfall taxes — if you earn profits, the taxman cometh — that is not a hospitable environment for investors. 'It means you mark down the value of UK businesses and mark up the cost of lending money to those businesses. And that is not a good growth strategy over the medium term. Penny wise, pound foolish' **What does ending 40 years of neoliberalism mean?** 'Have you been to Manchester? You know it’s the embodiment of neoliberalism done well. Success is founded on being a magnetic attractor of capital, or people, of business and culture. That’s what the UK should become' **What does public control of utilities mean?** 'From kind of full fat nationalisation, which would cost an arm and a leg, right through to tinkering with the regulatory rules. If you’re in the water industry, the energy industry, parts of the transport industry, investors are saying, ‘Hang on a sec, I’m not putting money in here.' thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Exclusive: A senior ally of Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Andy Burnham risks squandering public support if the budget next week fails to “meet the moment” and help people with the cost of living Darren Jones, who was chief secretary to the prime minister under Starmer, said the public were pessimistic about the future and the state of their own household finances He questioned whether the level of support in the budget would be enough given that the average energy bill is poised to rise by 16 per cent to nearly £2,000 in January John Healey, the chancellor, has said that he will announce a “temporary” and “targeted” package of help for poorer households with energy bills. He is expected to increase the warm homes discount, which offers households on certain benefits £150 off energy bills. He is expected to raise it by a further £100, a move that will benefit about six million households However, the move will not support households that do not claim benefits, who will bear the full brunt of the rise in prices Jones said: “The government should learn from the winter fuel debacle and ensure the threshold at which people get support is optimal, noting the benefit of mechanically keeping inflation lower than it might be by keeping bills down. Threshold questions are always difficult: who deserves what level of support, and who doesn’t? “Given the challenging winter ahead, with hikes to energy bills and El Niño causing more extreme weather, and higher-than-hoped-for inflation expected next year, MPs will be asking on behalf of their constituents: does this budget meet the moment? If it doesn’t, 2027 could be a challenging year not just for the economy, but for the public’s support of the government." thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…