Economics is caricatured as the dismal science. It is also a cynical science, as the stock market confirmed yesterday. Leading company share prices plunged in reaction to a sharper than expected fall in unemployment, news of which rekindled fears of a build-up of inflationary pressures in the economy. Low inflation tends to go hand in hand with high unemployment and the stock market jittered as the old saw about being in work, earning, and spending more came into play. We are not on the side of the cynics. We welcome the drop in joblessness, while recognising that a system must be found which accurately reports the real numbers out of work. This will cause a rise, at least in the short-term, in unemployment levels but the Government must not delay its commitment to ''unfudge'' the figures for political expediency.
Although inflation is creeping up, the Bank of England reported yesterday that the outlook was favourable. More people are in work, they have more to spend, money is cheap to borrow, inflation is still low, and, like the unemployment rate, is at a level which is the envy of our European competitors. To paraphrase Harold Macmillan, it is a long time since we had it so good. This is an unfortunate paradox for the Conservatives, who will argue that it was their policies under John Major which were responsible for the new ''golden age'', 35 years on from Macmillan's. But that is only part of the story, as is dreamy talk of a golden age. We are reminded of John Redwood's observations during the Tory party leadership campaign to the effect that the Conservatives lost the General Election largely because they had lost touch with the voter. Mr Major's Government had failed to pick up on household
worries, among them job insecurity.
Under Labour people still fret, not just about whether they will be earning the same amount rather than less in six months, but whether they will be in a job at all. That fear alone must temper this talk of a golden age. The sense of insecurity spreads beyond employment, although it is frequently linked to it. The new message might not be ''fend for yourself'' but it leaves us in no doubt that the state will not, cannot, provide. Families hear it when they come to make arrangements for elderly relatives who can no longer care for themselves. They hear it when they consider the cost of higher education for their children. Their children hear it when they start work (frequently on short-term contracts) and have to think from the outset about making their own pension plans. We do not wish to be party poopers but it is a curious, if unwelcome, fact that people do not feel that they are living
in an age of great happiness, prosperity, and comfort.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article