UK wages may not grow for 17 years

When a respected expert describes the prospects for the economy as “astonishing” and “pretty grim reading”, you know things are bad. The head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned today that wages would not grow for a total of 17 years. His gloom was matched by the Resolution Foundation which said the poorest third of households are set for an average loss of £700 a year for the next five years.