Worrying signs that economic recovery will be lost in rush for votes

As the election looms, the pressure will be on the mainstream parties to dangle carrots at the voters, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

The signs are all there that the economy is turning up: The roads are busier, the cranes have begun to reappear, and waiters in trendy spots are looking rushed. Estate agents are excited, while landlords have a gleam in their eye as they dictate terms on a take it or leave it basis.

What we are enjoying is a strange, but very real, curate’s egg — a trickle-down recovery where ‘animal spirits’ have been boosted by a drop in energy prices and by the fact that many people have simply got tired of being afraid.