Week ahead: UK January borrowing bill to hit £5bn to pay for cost of living support, experts predict February 19, 2023 Britain is expected to have borrowed around £5bn last month, largely to pay for household energy support, new figures out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week are poised to show. The difference between what the government spends and takes in tax revenue – the deficit – is likely to have been kept [...]
UK military risks NATO downgrade, security think tank warns February 16, 2023 Britain risks no longer being NATO’s top military power in Europe, a think tank report has warned, in the midst of growing security issues. The French military has more troops, jets and ships than the UK, despite spending £13bn less on defence, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) found. France boasts 203,250 personnel compared [...]
Why is the UK economy poised to tumble into a recession and fall behind Europe, US and even Russia? February 16, 2023 Britain avoided a much-tipped recession at the end of last year. Phew. “However, we are not out of the woods yet,” warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after last Friday’s GDP figures from the ONS revealed the economy stagnated at the end of 2022, meaning it narrowly avoided the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of [...]
Sunak under pressure to increase defence spending amid NATO warnings February 13, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to increase the UK’s defence spending after NATO called for allies to boost ammunition production to support Ukraine. Tory backbenchers have issued stark warnings that Britain’s armed forces are “woefully ill-prepared” for a major conflict and that low defence spending is a “false economy”. It came as NATO [...]
Hunt must tackle worker shortage hobbling London’s economy, business groups warn February 13, 2023 London’s economy is being hamstrung by a chronic worker shortage that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt needs to tackle at the 15 March budget, a new report from Britain’s biggest business lobby groups highlighted today. Nearly two in three of the capital’s firms are struggling to fill vacancies, according to research carried out by BusinessLDN, Federation of [...]
UK lost out on £320m AstraZeneca factory: Hunt ‘disappointed’ after drug giant choses low-tax Ireland instead February 10, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he was disappointed the UK “lost out this time” on a £320 million new AstraZeneca factory after the drugs giant chose the low-tax Republic of Ireland instead. The group had wanted to build a plant near its existing sites close to Macclesfield, Cheshire, but the “discouraging” tax rate had prompted a [...]
UK narrowly avoids recession as GDP remains unchanged but Jeremy Hunt warns country ‘not out the woods yet’ February 10, 2023 The UK very narrowly avoided a recession in the final months of last year but the economy contracted sharply over Christmas, official figures out today reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP) remained unchanged in the final three months of last year, meaning the country swerved the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of contraction, according [...]
CBI: Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak must use budget to prevent recession and bolster UK economy February 9, 2023 Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak need to use the spring budget to stimulate growth to prevent the UK tipping into a recession this year, the country’s biggest business group has urged today. The chancellor and prime minister should at the 15 March statement soothe the impact of a sharp rise in the UK’s profit tax [...]
UK to narrowly avoid recession but cost of living crisis will leave families £4,000 worse off February 8, 2023 The UK is poised to narrowly avoid a recession but the cost of living crisis will still leave average Brits £4,000 worse off this year, fresh forecasts out today reveal. Britain’s economy is set to squeeze out 0.2 per cent of GDP growth in 2023, meaning it will just about swerve a technical reversal, two [...]
100,000 civil servants to walk out on Budget Day, union says February 7, 2023 Around 100,000 civil servants are set to strike on Budget Day, their union has announced, amid a campaign of walkouts over pay disputes. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said it was escalating action after a “lack of movement” from the government over its concerns over pay, pensions and job security. Walkouts will take [...]