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What we can learn from British history about unemployment

Scarring left by the job losses of the early 1980s is still the reference point for today’s politiciansTucked away in the National Archives is the Treasury’s copy of the Liberal party’s manifesto for the 1929 election. Ostensibly written by David Lloyd George but influenced by John Maynard Keynes, the pamphlet – “We can conquer unemployment” – urges higher government borrowing to shorten Britain’s dole queues. Underneath an image of the former prime minister, an official has scrawled a three-word response: extravagance; inflation; bankruptcy.

Some things don’t change. Unemployment has been central to politics and culture for the best part of a century. DH Lawrence and Alan Bleasdale in Boys from the Blackstuff both wrote about the plight of Britain’s industrial working class. From Winston Churchill in the 1920s to Rishi Sunak, chancellors have been given advice on how to create jobs.
What’s more, the Treasury still frets about the cost, which is why almost every public statement from the chancellor says action will eventually be needed to bring down a budget deficit on course to reach £400bn this year. Up until now, though, the government has been spending and borrowing to prevent firms forcibly shut by lockdown restrictions from going bust and axing jobs.
The furlough – and other business support – has not prevented unemployment from rising by about 1 million, but intervention by the state has prevented much worse damage. For the past year, the Treasury’s wage subsidies have stood between Britain and mass unemployment.

Andy Haldane, the chief economist at the Bank of England, says that without state support, unemployment might already have reached 5 million. Treasury officials from the late 1920s could well be turning in their graves, but no government these days would try to balance the books when faced with a deep recession. As the free-market economist Robert Lucas once noted: “In a foxhole we are all Keynesians.”
Keynes eventually won his battle with the mandarins but it took 15 years – and the second world war – to enshrine the political commitment to full employment. A generation of politicians – including Harold Wilson and Ted Heath – never forgot what it was like growing up during the interwar years.
Post-war baby boomers came of age when jobs were easy to come by. If it’s hard to find a mention of unemployment in the songs of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones during their 1960s heyday, that’s because it was not an issue.
But by 1981 it was possible to sense how much had changed simply by listening to the music on the radio: Ghost Town by the Specials or One in Ten by UB40, a band named after the form that unemployment claimants had to complete to get benefits. On the other side of the Atlantic, Bruce Springsteen was lamenting the end of the American Dream as factories closed all over the “Rust Belt”.

The contrast between the late 1960s and the early 1980s was marked. Heath flirted briefly with what became known as monetarism but when unemployment hit what was then considered to be the politically unacceptable level of one million, he did an immediate U-turn and reflated the economy. Responding to mid-1970s stagflation – a combination of sluggish growth and high inflation – Labour’s James Callaghan abandoned Keynesian economics.This was just the prelude to a more radical approach. In 1980, Margaret Thatcher was determined to defeat inflation no matter what it took. Faced with pressure to ease up as the economy suffered, she famously said: “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.”
Her speech to the Conservative party conference in 1980 came in the year that unemployment hit two million. Despite repeated massaging of the official figures, it carried on rising to three million and stayed there until the middle of the decade. And Thatcher’s determination to stick to her hardline monetarist convictions came at a cost: not just the riots in Brixton and Toxteth but longer-term damage as older workers were hidden away on sickness and disability benefits. Unemployment permeated into communities, creating a deep well of resentment that has never drained away.
The scarring left by the job losses of the early 1980s remains the reference point for today’s politicians, even though unemployment again hit 3 million in the recession that followed the collapse of the late 1980s boom, and surged again during the financial crash of 2008-09.
For Sunak, the question is whether to carry on spending, or put the brakes on. The ghosts in the Treasury may still be whispering their three-word mantra, but the historically low interest rates at which he can borrow mean Britain is not going bankrupt; inflation is below 1%; and the big risk lies in not being extravagant enough.
source: Larry Elliott
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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