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A think tank says Rishi Sunak risks breaking Treasury rules on borrowing if he is to boost public spending. 
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Farmers say allowing food imports that would be illegal to produce in the UK would be "morally bankrupt".
Graham Watson's insight:
It seems that the battle lines are being drawn with farmers and fishermen - a relatively small proportion of GDP and employment - seemingly playing a much more prominent role in the future of British trade post-Brexit.
It is interesting, if only because it reveals something about the British negotiating position post-Brexit and the cultural factors that shape British identity - rightly - and the British economy - probably wrongly.
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Britain contributed only 3% of continent’s 2019 green spending, report says
Graham Watson's insight:
This could be both Micro or Macroeconomic - either way it suggests that far from being at the cutting edge of green innovation as many in the government claim, the UK is actually lagging in terms of its 'green spending'.
Of course, this is a pretty blunt instrument; it's not so just the quantity of the spending that's important but it must be appropriately directed too.
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to satisfy competing audiences, but there is a way he can do it
Graham Watson's insight:
Excellent Larry Elliott summary of the Brexit dilemmas facing the Chancellor, and how he might seek to square this particular circle. Looser spending rules, more public spending for the regions and - I dare him - taxing the pension contributions of higher rate taxpayers more. Go on, who else are they going to vote for...?
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Fishing was a powerful factor in the case for leaving the EU. On the eve of crucial trade talks, the Observer finds optimism tempered by caution on the quays of Devon and Cornwall
Graham Watson's insight:
An excellent long read from yesterday's Observer which looks at the Brexit implications for the fishing sector, seen as significant from a symbolic, if not an economic perspective. It's well worth a read, highlighting as it does the possible benefits of Brexit as well as the fact that generating those benefits is going to be far from straightforward.
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Points-based plan makes it hard for low-skilled migrants to work – it pulls up the drawbridge rather than takes back control
Graham Watson's insight:
Larry Elliott's response to the proposals re: immigration. He's a bit more sceptical...
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TUC says jump to 1.8% would put squeeze on living standards at time of falling wage growth
Graham Watson's insight:
Yesterday's news...but worth noting nonetheless. Inflation has crept up to 1.*%, still below target but its highest for six months.
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Rishi Sunak urged to enshrine right to access cash in budget with 8m people at risk of exclusion
Graham Watson's insight:
Another interesting article about the increasingly cashless society that we now inhabit, and how a number of people are increasingly excluded from it.
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Priti Patel says businesses should train the 8.5 million economically inactive people. But only two million of them want a job.
Graham Watson's insight:
The BBC's Reality Check series is excellent at calling people out on the arrant nonsense that they speak. In this case, it's the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who thinks that tougher limits on immigration will mean that UK businesses will need to call on those people who are currently 'economically inactive'.
She claims that there are currently nearly 8.5 million of them. However, this looks at the latest ONS data and concludes that of that number fewer than 2 million want a job - with the majority students, sick, carers or early retirees not interested in working.
Which is ironic because Priti worked obviously full-time as a student, and will, no doubt be working beyond 65 in a minimum wage job too.
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David Frost says democratic consent would snap if UK agreed to EU alignment
Graham Watson's insight:
This is a fascinating read - and I'm intrigued, largely because, I suspect, that it irks me.
I find it scarcely credible that the UK is going to benefit from Brexit, and equally, I find it incredible that the UK's Brexit negotiator thinks that the EU will give Britain a free hand in determining its own trade rules, or that the UK is going to see a boost in productivity as a result. I note that there's no suggestion of where this boost in productivity is going to come from.
However, because it disagrees with my view, I want to be convinced of why I should believe David Frost. Can he present a credible case for these assertions? And if so, where is it?
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Vote comes as bloc wields its powers to force change in UK domestic law during transition
Graham Watson's insight:
Just for info: the transition period has started and look at the fun we're about to have the EU is still able to legislate and affect UK markets, in this case the market for heavy lorries, and the European parliament is calling for alignment of trade standards as the price of a trade deal with the EU. Wot larks, Pip!
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Boris Johnson has confirmed that HS2 rail line has received the "green signal," arguing that the "exploding costs" are outweighed by its "fundamental benefits".
Graham Watson's insight:
The Telegraph looks at the decision to give HS2 the green signal - and allow the Prime Minister to say "Get This Done" again, despite the fact that he's never struck me as a man who's ever got much done, as his career attests.
However, this looks at the challenges that face the project, but I suspect the Telegraph is mostly trying to curry favour with Conservative-voting readers in both the Home Counties and the Midlands.
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The party faces an unpalatable budget choice: no new spending, raise taxes on the rich, or break its own fiscal rules, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
Graham Watson's insight:
A bit of polemic for you, with the Toynbeeosaurus looking at the budget choices facing the government. She argues that the choices revolve around no new spending, taxing the rich or breaking its own fiscal rules.
I wonder what the government will opt for: my guess is the latter. With the Chancellor programmed not to answer questions about this, or defend his earlier position on austerity. I'm looking forward to seeing Andrew Neil interviewing him - I'll wager he won't be able to resist a reference to the 'magic money' tree. And I'll also wager that the Chancellor will refuse to answer.
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Landmark England review says austerity causing unprecedented damage to people’s health and life chances
Graham Watson's insight:
I didn't immediately spot this, however, it makes an important contribution to well-being and inequality, in as much as it posits that austerity has had an adverse effect upon the well-being on the poorest in society, such that life expectancy among this group has stalled or it even falling in some instance.
It also highlights the fact that when measuring well-being we need to look at more than GDP, something that regularly features although quite why that's the case, when even it's founders were aware of its shortcomings in this regard.
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Calls for food standards to be enshrined in law to avoid post-Brexit ‘betrayal’ of consumers
Graham Watson's insight:
It seems that Britain's post-Brexit future will depend upon two things: the fate of the fishing industry and whether or not we are going to lower food standards and permit the import of chlorinated chicken.
Apart from the headlines, does this contribute much to national debate.
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Biggest English cities expected to benefit as EY urges policies to address regional imbalances
Graham Watson's insight:
Perhaps this puts the forthcoming Budget into context: the latest Ernst & Young research suggests that regional inequality is going to continue to grow, as successive policy initiatives have had little effect on income distribution.
However, perhaps a more important consideration is intra-regional inequality: it seems that larger cities are going to continue to gorw at the expense of smaller towns.
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Concerns raised after reports negotiating team told to devise plans to ‘get around’ protocol in withdrawal agreement
Graham Watson's insight:
More Brexit good news - it seems that a desire to get around previously agreed Northern Ireland pledges are likely to become a sticking point in future negotiations. Cue much hilarity behind closed doors as no-one dares to point out that honesty and integrity are rarely associated with the Prime Minister, by either his wives/partners or children - however many there might be.
The net result? Antagonism and less likelihood of trade deals is my guess, followed by attempts to demonise the EU who will play the 'acting in good faith card'.
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The French president's doubts come as the UK government is set to publish its demands.
Graham Watson's insight:
Cue further uncertainty, cue its macroeconomic effects.
We are going to get Brexit done. No matter how long it takes, and irrespective of whether it kills us or not.
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A more liberal system for skilled migration from anywhere in the world could benefit Britain – if it isn’t rushed or bungled, says Jonathan Portes of King’s College London
Graham Watson's insight:
The excellent Jonathan Portes with a summary of the government's proposed immigration reforms. He's actually more optimistic than I expected but there are still grounds for concern, particularly if politics gets in the way of the implementation of policy.
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In rebuke to ministers, ISC says Johnson’s goal of rebalancing UK economy is being put at risk
Graham Watson's insight:
The term 'levelling up' has been bandied around quite a lot recently, but this Guardian article reports ISC research that suggests that the government has largely overlooked industrial policy in the recent past.
It will be interesting to see if things change, given the rhetoric.
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Low-skilled workers would not get visas under post-Brexit immigration plans unveiled by the government. It is urging employers to "move away" from relying on "cheap labour" from Europe and invest in retaining staff and developing automation technology.
Graham Watson's insight:
This BBC News clip looks at the UK's new immigration policy in some detail, and how it will impact various sectors of the economy. There are many concerns about the implication of the new restrictions for UK agriculture, the hospitality sector and social care.
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Post-Christmas sales helped retailers see their best growth since March, official figures show.
Graham Watson's insight:
The great Rupert Seggins has already started to deconstruct the latest retail sales data, and concludes that although January's figures are encouraging, the bigger picture is bleaker, with sales for the previous three months as a whole down by nearly 1% from previous years.
The government must be hoping that post-election confidence will bolster spending; we shall see.
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Its chief executive has told the BBC that it will close shops if business rates do not change.
Graham Watson's insight:
Just a very direct statement: business rates are killing the High Street according to Anthony Smith, the Chief Executive of Shoe Zone, who warns that 100 shops could close if business rates do not change.
I've been 'scooping' this sort of story for a few years now - has anything changed in that time, and of not, why not? We must be able to find a solution to this sort of thing.
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The stark warning comes from jewellers F Hinds, one of 50 retailers urging the government to act.
Graham Watson's insight:
I've not talked about the state of the High Street for a while, but jewellers F Hinds are one of a number of retailers calling for government action to protect the nation's high streets.
This is an interesting issue, that raises all sorts of issues, not least relating to externalities, and the extent to which the current system of business rates is appropriate in an age where the internet accounts for a greater proportion of retail sales than before.
I might use it as a prompt to see if pupils can spot the externalities associated with empty shops on the High Street.
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Growth in the services and construction sectors was offset by a "poor showing" from manufacturing.
Graham Watson's insight:
Ooops!
The latest growth figures suggest zero growth in the final quarter of 2020. Yes, you read that right. Marginal growth in services and construction - the latter not renowned for growth at this time of year - was offset by a decline in manufacturing.
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It's a bit disconcerting to be 'scooping' something which leads with a photograph of a former pupil, however, such is my age.
The IFS have suggested that the 2020 Budget will have to see one of two things - either a rise in taxes, a fairly common feature of a post-election Budget, or a relaxation of public spending rules.
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and not Dominic Cummings - the latter not being a Trantite - is likely to have already fathomed this. So watch out for some chicanery looking to distinguish between current and capital expenditures at the very least.