Conservatives ‘lost the confidence’ of business, Badenoch admits November 25, 2024 The Conservatives “lost the confidence of business” at the July general election and firms “knew we were going to lose”, Kemi Badenoch has admitted. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday, the Tory leader told attendees Labour’s Budget had got the diagnosis wrong, leading to an “unprecedented raid on businesses”. [...]
Reeves ‘not satisfied’ as economic growth slows in third quarter November 16, 2024 Rachel Reeves has said she is “not satisfied” after official figures showed economic growth slowed in the months after Labour won the election, and even contracted in September. The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent between July and September, versus 0.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Has Rachel Reeves talked the UK economy into a downturn? November 15, 2024 The economy expanded just 0.1 per cent in the three months to September, below expectations and down from a 0.5 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.
US elections: ‘Steep challenges’ for trade as UK exports could fall by £22bn November 8, 2024 Trade experts have warned Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could pose “steep challenges” for the UK’s trade, with exports at risk of falling by £22bn. Ahead of his victory in the US election, Trump said he wants to increase tariffs on goods imported from around the world by 10 per cent, rising to 60 per cent [...]
Labour must get Trump relationship right to avoid tariff chaos, Stride warns November 7, 2024 Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has said that it is essential for the Labour government to develop a good relationship with Donald Trump in a bid to avoid the damaging impact of any potential trade tariffs. The incoming US president has said he may put tariffs of 10 to 20 per cent on countries such as [...]
Mel Stride and Priti Patel given top shadow cabinet jobs November 4, 2024 Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel have been appointed as shadow Chancellor and shadow foreign secretary as new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch assembles her front-bench team. Both Stride and Patel ran against now-Conservative leader Badenoch in the race to replace Rishi Sunak following the July 4 election. Their appointments are the first to shadow the [...]
Tory leadership race: Mel Stride knocked out as MPs whittle candidates to four September 10, 2024 Mel Stride has been knocked out of the Tory leadership race as Conservative MPs voted to whittle the remaining candidates down to four. The former work and pensions secretary received just 16 votes, the lowest number of votes, meaning he was eliminated from the process, while Robert Jenrick led the pack on 33 votes. Kemi [...]
‘Untenable’ that average Conservative voter is 63 years old, Mel Stride admits August 14, 2024 The average Conservative voter being 63 years old is “completely untenable,” leadership hopeful Mel Stride has admitted. The shadow work and pensions secretary was asked by Times Radio about a poll which showed three in five people in the UK do not care who the next Conservative leader is. He told the broadcaster: “The way [...]
Tory leadership race: Who is standing to be leader of the Conservative Party? August 13, 2024 Following Labour’s election victory on July 4, Rishi Sunak announced he would be standing down as leader of the Conservative Party. So, the race is on to find out who the next leader of the opposition will be, chosen by Tory MPs and party members. We’ve rounded up all the contenders, who will be whittled [...]
Can Mel Stride’s bootcamps address ‘urgent need’ to boost workforce? May 21, 2024 Stride admitted that moving away from migration might provide a "recruitment challenge," but argued the policy formed part of a shift towards an "economic model based on British talent".