UK economy faces increased pressure in coming months

The UK's economy is expected to face increased pressure in the coming months due to rising energy costs, with predictions of annual energy bills going up by £500 early next year.

Labour's Chancellor John Healey will be spending a lot of time holed up in his hotel room making decisions about the Budget which is only a month away.

The increasing cost of paying the interest on the country's debts weighs heavily, with Treasury sources saying they don't recognise that simple number.

Don't forget the rising welfare bill, demands for more defence spending. It's unusual that a party conference is happening with a budget just weeks away, and it looms over the conference, just as the state of the economy looms over Labour's current feel-good factor.

The UK can't force the US and Iran to find peace, to get traffic flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz, to bring the oil price down. Nor can the prime minister make Putin bring his war on Ukraine to an end, with pressure on European gas supply as we enter another winter.

There are already predictions of our annual energy bills going up by £500 early next year.

The contrast is not between now and hard times, but between the new regime and the old regime. The question that beckons beyond the conference hall – can that carry on if hard times hit?

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