Treasury’s new Head of Growth will have their work cut out September 24, 2026 Do you want the good news or the bad news? Trick question, I’m afraid. There is no good news. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revised its forecast for UK economic growth this year from 0.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent, but – before you reach for the champagne – they’ve [...]
Closing the AI skills gap is an £80 billion opportunity September 24, 2026 Smart use of AI could add £80bn in productivity gains to the British economy by 2035, but too few businesses have the workforce to deploy it effectively, says Steve Rigby The daily AI discourse moves between a few regular topics: eye-watering investment in frontier models, soaring compute costs, crippling cyberattacks and the unknowable impact of [...]
What to expect from Andy Burnham at Labour party conference September 24, 2026 Andy Burnham’s first conference speech will crown an extraordinary for the former Mayor of Manchester turned Prime Minister, but it’s also the moment he must explain how he will meet the challenges ahead, says Douglas Beattie What a difference a year makes – 12 months ago, amid growing leadership speculation, Andy Burnham was telling journalists [...]
Is Carney’s European dream pure fantasy? September 23, 2026 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is making a bold punt for European "integration", but it risks being a fairytale, writes Tim Focas.
The Debate: Should Borough Market allow franchising? September 23, 2026 Bakery Bread Ahead claims it is being booted out of Borough Market for being "too successful" but should the market encourage expansion?
The business case for international aid spending September 23, 2026 UK development spending is good for British business. I know, I've seen it first hand, writes Co-op policy director Paul Gerrard.
On this day: Bruce Springsteen is born September 23, 2026 On 23 September 1949, Bruce Springsteen aka ‘The Boss’ was born in New Jersey. His life and music would go on to define post-war America, writes Eliot Wilson The way in which modern rock music developed means that the late 1940s are stuffed full of famous births. Take 1949 alone, and you will find enduring [...]
I’m an AI investor: here’s why I just deleted Claude September 23, 2026 Anthropic’s messianic pronouncements are no longer like a marketing strategy, but a religious playbook, says Lewis Liu I canceled my personal Claude subscription this week and deleted years of work. I don’t object to the technology (I’m an AI investor currently working at the sharp end of its capabilities) but I believe that tone and [...]
If Brexit is to blame for Britain’s economic woes what’s the EU’s excuse? September 23, 2026 The Labour government is blaming Brexit for low growth but ignoring that’s it’s a phenomenon plaguing the EU as well, says Paul Ormerod At the weekend, Bridget Phillipson became the latest leading politician to pin the economic woes of the UK on Brexit. She recognised that youth unemployment will continue to rise but argued that [...]
MPs will need courage to cut the welfare bill September 23, 2026 Over 100 Labour MPs also have more claimants for mental health conditions such as anxiety, ADHD and autism than their majorities, says Joseph Dinnage The unsustainable expansion of the welfare state is the most important domestic political issue of our time. Britain’s pervasive lack of ambition, dependence, profligacy and idleness are all symptoms of this [...]