Inflation expected to inch back up due to travel rush January 19, 2026 Inflation is expected to edge back up as higher airfares and tobacco prices are squeezing British families’ budgets and adding to pressures on the cost of living. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted consumer price index (CPI) inflation to hit 3.3 per cent rate for the year to December, which would be higher than [...]
U-turn on ID cards reveals a deeper flaw in Starmer’s Labour January 19, 2026 With his latest U-turn, Keir Starmer has taken a controversial policy which nonetheless had a substantial support base and made it deeply unpopular. It’s of a piece with his whole approach to government, says Eliot Wilson Last week the government announced – or perhaps admitted? – that the digital ID unveiled last year will not [...]
Starmer calls for ‘calm’ as US tariff war flares up January 19, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer urged US and EU allies to engage in “calm discussion” in order to stave off a tariff war while re-iterating the UK’s commitment to upholding Greenland’s sovereignty. President Trump stunned allies by threatening to impose additional 10 per cent tariffs on UK imports from next month due to opposition to his plans [...]
Rachel Reeves is acting like the mayor in Jaws – and small businesses are suffering January 19, 2026 The FTSE may be at an all-time high, but Reeves should not pretend all is calm when the waters are extremely choppy for small businesses, says Andrew Griffith Embattled ministers love good news to boast about on social media or in a TV studio, and this government’s most embattled minister, Rachel Reeves, is no exception. [...]
Trump tariffs: EU ‘has tools at disposal’ to hit back amid Greenland spat January 19, 2026 The European Union has pledged it has the “tools” to hit back at the US after President Trump’s latest trade offensive amid the deepening Greenland crisis. In a daily briefing the European Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson and trade lead, Olof Gill, said “should the threatened tariffs be imposed, the European Union has tools at its disposal [...]
IMF: UK economy to lag behind growth of advanced economies January 19, 2026 The UK economy is set to grow at a slower pace than the average across advanced economies in each of the next two years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, in a warning on the Labour government’s ability competitiveness against world powers. The IMF has kept its UK growth figures for 2026 and 2027 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold soars as Trump’s tariffs threaten trade war January 19, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It might be a new year but it’s the same issues controlling the global markets. The FTSE 100 closed last week one per cent higher than it started at 10,235.29p. But this came around 24 hours prior to President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff attack on [...]
UK economy ‘languishing’ behind peers as living standards stagnate January 19, 2026 The Labour government risks leaving the UK economy falling further behind major trading partners, left-leaning economists have warned, as they urged Rachel Reeves to ramp up growth plans ahead of crucial meetings in Davos this week. A new report by the Resolution Foundation, the think tank where several current Treasury ministers brainstormed policies before becoming [...]
Kemi Badenoch joins protesters calling for Government to stop China mega-embassy January 17, 2026 Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for the Government to stop China’s proposed central London “mega-embassy” when she spoke at a protest on Saturday. The Government is facing mounting calls to reject Beijing’s plans for the embassy at Royal Mint Court over security concerns. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the site on Saturday afternoon, some [...]
Sack Streeting, cabinet ministers urge Starmer January 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls from cabinet ministers to follow Kemi Badenoch’s playbook and sack health secretary Wes Streeting for disloyalty. Ministers are becoming increasingly frustrated about Streeting’s forthright public criticisms of the Labour party, with some privately accusing him of putting his leadership ambitions first and “attacking No 10”. One cabinet minister told [...]