Tory conference: Hunt warns Labour against ‘catastrophic’ Budget tax hikes Politics Jeremy Hunt has warned Labour against making “catastrophic mistakes” in the Budget and hiking up “tax in a way that destroys growth”. The shadow Chancellor issued a stark warning to the government as he spoke at the annual Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. Asked at an in-conversation event on Monday, if things could get worse, [...]
UK growth revised down to 0.5 per cent in second quarter Economics Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said the updated figures included new survey data, VAT returns and updated information about the size of different industries.
GDP unexpectedly stagnates in July following strong first half of 2024 Economics The figures returned the UK to growth after GDP was flat in June and represent a positive start to the second half of the year.
Wage growth slows ‘markedly’ in a boost for the Bank of England September 10, 2024 Strong wage growth has been a concern for policymakers at the Bank of England due to fears that it could keep cost pressures elevated, particularly in the labour-intensive services sector.
UK economy’s recovery from pandemic stronger than first thought August 7, 2024 The UK economy recovered from the pandemic faster than had previously been thought, new revisions from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. In the latest set of Blue Book revisions, the ONS upgraded their estimate for GDP growth in 2022 from 4.3 per cent to 4.8 per cent. This upgrade was a “little larger” [...]
‘Steady picture’: UK house prices increase at fastest rate since July 2022, as London rose slowest July 17, 2024 Expectations of a cut to interest rates and continued tight supply helped house prices to rise for the third successive month in May, the Office for National Statistics has said.
London dragging on UK’s productivity growth since the pandemic, data suggests June 17, 2024 London has been holding back the UK's productivity growth since the pandemic, despite being the country's most productive region.
UK acquisition deals fall to pandemic low as foreign eyes turn away from London June 4, 2024 The number of UK mergers and acquisitions fell to their lowest in March since 2020, as the rate of foreign companies buying British businesses almost halved throughout the quarter. There were 426 M&A transactions in the first quarter of the year, 18 fewer than the previous quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed [...]
ONS suffering from staff departures amid concerns over data – reports May 29, 2024 The figures come at a time when the ONS is facing questions about the accuracy of its data, in particular its flagship Labour Force Survey.
Action ‘urgently needed’ as UK long-term sickness climbs to record high of 2.8m April 16, 2024 Recent research from the Resolution Foundation found that the rise in long-term sickness over the past few years is the longest sustained rise since the 1990s.