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Morning Briefing: Brexit chaos pushes UK towards recession
The UK economy is slipping closer to recession as the chances of the country leaving the EU without a deal magnify, and the rest of the major stories from this morning
In the news
The Guardian reports that the service sector did not grow as quickly as expected in August, meaning that the UK could be set to suffer its first recession since the financial crisis.
Expect calls from the social housing figures for investment in the ‘counter-cyclical’ should the recession become official.
Last night, the BBC reports, the House of Lords agreed that a bill intended to avert a no-deal Brexit will pass through the Lords by the end of tomorrow.
According to Lord Ashton of Hyde, the government’s chief whip in the House of Lords, the Commons chief whip has also made a commitment that MPs will consider any amendments on Monday, after which the bill will be ready for royal assent.
One company seemingly unaffected by the economic turmoil is the UK’s largest house builder, Barratt, which, according to The Guardian, posted a record £910m profit last year.
The newspaper reports that Barratt benefited from the government’s Help to Buy scheme, which accounted for 40% of sales.
In an analysis of Barratt’s results, The Times suggested that the Help to Buy scheme would “come back to bite” those who have used it to buy homes.
Henry Pryor, a buying agent, told the paper that these people may struggle to sell their homes or even find themselves in negative equity when the scheme ends in 2023.
Although politicians are largely distracted by Brexit at the moment, chancellor Sajid Javid did find time for a Spending Round yesterday afternoon. Inside Housing’s full coverage of that fiscal event is here.
There wasn’t much for housing in Mr Javid’s speech but the overall tone was, as expected, geared towards more spending.
Elsewhere, The Guardian’s money editor, Patrick Collinson, has launched an attack on a real estate investment trust (REIT) called GCP Student Living.
He argues that its massive profits on blocks of student accommodation across the South of England indicate a significant policy failure, given that the government could be funding these buildings.
Incidentally, GCP Student Living is owned by the same parent company as the REIT fund Supported Living Infrastructure Limited, which owns a portfolio of specialised supported housing.
On social media
Team @housingmagazine are looking forward to welcoming delegates to today’s Social Housing Scottish Annual Conference #SHFCScotland As a warm up act, here’s our September feature into affordable delivery in rural Scotland #ukhousing #socialhousingfinance t.co/RkLAyGEFhc
— Sarah Williams (@SWjourno)Team @housingmagazine are looking forward to welcoming delegates to today's Social Housing Scottish Annual Conference #SHFCScotland As a warm up act, here's our September feature into affordable delivery in rural Scotland #ukhousing #socialhousingfinance https://t.co/RkLAyGEFhc
— Sarah Williams (@SWjourno) September 5, 2019
What’s on
- Inside Housing’s sister publication, Social Housing, is hosting its Scottish Annual Conference in Glasgow starting today
