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The personnel in Downing Street may change – but the problems with the economy stay the same

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak will have to come together and agree a half-dozen or so quick wins on regional policy, writes Hamish McRae

Sunday 15 November 2020 15:40 GMT
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<p>Dominic Cummings on his way out of No 10 last week</p>

Dominic Cummings on his way out of No 10 last week

The politics change but the numbers stay the same. The hill that Boris Johnson has to climb to restore a reputation for competent management is nothing to the mountain range that faces the economy. 

With Dominic Cummings out, it is reasonable to expect that there will be a more cooperative operation at No 10. But what does this political revolution mean for the slog that faces the economy – actually faces the rest of us, because we have to do the work – over the next couple of years?

The first thing is that economic policies have to become more coherent and less piecemeal. That is not a criticism of Rishi Sunak’s initiatives so far. Most of the intervention had to be piecemeal, framing a policy to match a crisis. The “Eat Out to Help Out” support for the hospitality industry was a good example of that. 

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