The state we’re in

The full effects of the government’s austerity measures are still unknown, explains Andrew Goodwin

One year on from Chancellor George Osborne’s emergency Budget and the jury is still out on the eventual impact of the fiscal austerity measures. What is clear is that the economic recovery remains intact, albeit rather slower than hoped and much slower than recoveries from previous recessions. Having contracted by almost 5% in 2009, the economy grew only 1.3% in the last year and the figures for 2011 so far have been mixed. GDP rose 0.5% in Q1 this year, but this only reversed the weather