Some room for manoeuvre for Philip Hammond

There are two big puzzles about the British economy since the EU referendum just over two years ago. One is the strength of the labour market which has delivered a record employment rate – there has never been a higher proportion of working-age people in work – and the lowest unemployment rate since the mid-1970s.

The other is the health of the public finances which were expected to take a significant hit in the light of a slowing economy after the Brexit vote. The economy has certainly slowed to not much better than a third of its growth rate four years ago. The public finances however appear to have been largely immune from the effects of that slowdown.