Autumn statement: wage freezes and the future

The sustained decline in real wages since the 2008 financial crash is the worst Britain has experienced since the war, and possibly in the last 100 years: that’s the conclusion of the influential think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The IFS said that yesterday’s Autumn Statement would mean that, by 2021, real wages would be below their level 13 years earlier. The analysis came as pro-Brexit MPs accused economists of promoting a “doom and gloom scenario” which was out of line with reality.