The podcast that keeps you up to date with what is happening economy-wise in Northern Ireland. Telling you what you need to know but not necessarily what you want to hear. It is better to be prepared for the economic environment we are operating in and not the world we would like to be in.
Featuring Andrew Webb, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton
Last year was tumultuous for the UK to say the least both in terms of politics and economics. We witnessed 4 Chancellors, 3 Prime Ministers in the space of two months and two monarchs. The UK said farewell to its longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II and its shortest serving Prime Minister – Liz Truss. Liz’s mantra was Go big or Go home and she did both in the space of 44 days.
Trussonomics – through the misnomer that was the “Mini-Budget” threw fuel onto a cost of borrowing crisis which was a new angle to the wider cost of living crisis. That rounded off the year with a recessionary threat clouding the outlook and a Mexican wave of strike action taking place throughout the UK.
And that was just at home. Globally, geopolitics loomed large in 2022, not least following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with geopolitics exerting a far greater influence and shaping the outlook in a way it hasn’t done in years.
Against this backdrop it is not surprising that the Collins English Dictionary word of the year was “PERMACRISIS”.
Despite these multifaceted woes, Northern Ireland continues to battle these challenges with one or even two hands tied behind its back with no functioning Executive in Stormont.