Often such people are to be heard lecturing us about what we are doing wrong and why extra tax breaks or subsidies for their businesses amount to the only sensible way forward. But yesterday the transatlantic drawl of Barclays chief executive Jes Staley came as music to our ears. For Mr Staley became the latest heavyweight economic figure to herald the good news: Britain is on the brink of a remarkable boom. What is more, it is shaping up to be a sustainable job-creating boom rather than a reckless inflationary one.
“We estimate the UK economy will grow at its fastest rate since 1948. That’s pretty spectacular,” he said, adding that the second half of this year “will be quite something”. The Roaring Twenties really are on the way – they just turned up a year late.
Mr Staley says there is £200billion worth of pent-up demand in the economy, with consumers ready to spend their share as we unlock after Covid and businesses poised to unleash a tidal wave of investment. And there is enough spare capacity to cope without igniting uncontrollable inflation or pushing interest rates up to a…
