A former Bank of England chief economist has told Sky News that "repeated mistakes" by the government have been "sucking all life" from the economy ahead of the budget. Andy Haldane said the country had to find a new way of treating the build-up to the annual fiscal event, as budget rumour and speculation - initiated in part by ministers and via leaks - had fed acts of self-harm for the past two years. "It's been a bad hand played, in truth, pretty poorly," he said of the chancellor's