Economic Stats 1997-2007 Flashcards
How did inflation change between 1997 and 2007
Rose from 2.6% in 1997 to 4.8% In 2007
How did New Labour change pensions
Taxed pension savings
By 2007 £8 billion in value lost by taxing dividends
Additional “stealth tax” on pensions meant overall share prices dropped £120 billion
How did New Labour change taxation
Raising NI contributions
Removing marriage tax allowance for couples under 65
Removed tax relief in mortgage payments
Reduced tax free savings under PEPs and ISAs
How had employment changed between 1997 and 2007
2.5 million more people employed in 2007 than 1997
Growth in public sector and issues this caused
37% of new jobs in public sector (total of 900,000)
Meant britain was now a “client state” with 1 in 4 public sector employees
Any fall in government revenue would cause increase in borrowing, rise in unemployment or drop in wages
How did borrowing change under New Labour
Lots of gov borrowing from foreign banks
Era of consumerism- borrowing to pay for phones, computers etc
Brands like wonga- payday loans
What was the “Golden Brown” scandal and what did it cause
Brown sold over half of British gold reserves between 1999 and 2002
Recovery in prices led to britain losing £3 billion by 2005- equivalent to a penny on the basic tax rate
How did Britain fare dealing with China
By 2005, British exports to China were £5 billion compared to £31 billion from Germany
