Hope and glory: Why the UK is a publicly traded company

Cost cutting not the answer

It became clear in 2022 that the United Kingdom is effectively a publicly traded company, or plc, with all the ups and downs this brings, including active and influential shareholders – or to be more accurate, bondholders.

The opinions of these bondholders, otherwise known as ‘gilts', matters, and they have significant leverage. This was seen more generally during the short-lived Truss/Kwarteng government, and more precisely following their September Mini Budget, where the bond, equity and currency markets began to collapse under selling pressure in face of huge negativity triggered by the potential of unfunded tax cuts and more widespread credibility concerns. FTSE 100 rally may persist despite mounting economic pressures for the UK The message was simple: with public debt of £2.5trn, the actions of...