Osborne does not do shame. The 0.5% growth in the third quarter, which may well be pared down by further revision of the figures as happened in both the previous quarters, is anything but the triumph Osborne hailed it as. At 3 years after the start of the Great Depression in 1930 the UK economy was poised to grow rapidly from -6% below the pre-crash peak to pass that peak again within a year. This time round, the UK economy at the same 3-year point in the cycle is stuck at -4% below the pre-crash peak and any idea of growth within the next year, let alone the next 2-3 years, has vanished. This is not just the slowest ’recovery’ ever from a deep recession, it is also of all the 5 big recessions of the last century the one which at this 3-year point from its start looks likely to slide back again into even deeper recession. Continue reading →