It comes as no great surprise that Britain is almost certainly in recession

Editorial: Voters don’t like recessions, but they resent them even more if there is no obvious light at the end of the tunnel

Britain’s last plan for growth was full of the wrong policies (EPA)

It comes as no great surprise that Britain is almost certainly in recession. The Bank of England and economists generally have been forecasting it for some time, and the slowdown is affecting almost every corner of the globe.

The reasons are all too familiar: the war in Ukraine that has sent energy and food prices spiralling; the post-pandemic shortages and broken supply chains; and the gradual unwinding of the globalisation that did so much to lift millions out of poverty across the globe.

The UK burdened itself with Brexit as well, making trade with its biggest market more difficult – and leading directly to an acute shortage of workers at every skill level. The British “pie” is shrinking; with all that entails for wages, strikes and public services. Less to go round for all – and a scrap for what’s left.