Ministers must get a grip of broken benefits system, Reeves insists March 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves has doubled down on the need to reform the welfare system, insisting the government must “get a grip” on it amid concerns from Labour MPs about the impact of expected cuts to the budget. The benefits system is “broken” and is “not working for anyone”, the Chancellor said. Backbench Labour MPs have made [...]
No 10 says Donald Trump’s tariffs not responsible for UK economy shrinking March 14, 2025 Donald Trump’s tariffs are not responsible for the UK economy shrinking in January, Downing Street has said, in a position that appears to contradict the Chancellor’s reaction to the latest poor economic figures. According to the latest set of gross domestic product (GDP) figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the economy shrank [...]
Ed Miliband in China for climate meetings amid new investment approach March 14, 2025 Energy secretary Ed Miliband is in China for climate meetings in a bid to restart the government’s environmental dialogue with the Asian nation. The energy security and net zero secretary will meet Chinese counterparts Wang Hongzhi and Huang Runqiu to pursue efforts to work jointly to slash emissions, the government said. It marks the first [...]
Reeves to announce £2bn defence boost to secure more orders from allies March 14, 2025 The government has pledged an extra £2bn to support UK defence exporters in a bid to unlock more orders from international allies. This increases the lending capacity of the UK Export Finance’s (UKEF), the country’s official export credit agency, to £10bn. The UKEF’s Direct Lending scheme provides loans to other countries, which allow them to [...]
GDP shrinks in January as UK economy prepares for upcoming tax hikes March 14, 2025 The UK economy underperformed expectations in January. According to the latest set of gross domestic product (GDP) figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in January as output was dragged down by a sharp drop in output in the production sector. Over the three months to [...]
Week in Business: Will Starmer Slash the State? March 13, 2025 Javier Milei, Elon Musk, and now Keir Starmer? The PM says he wants to reform the state - just don't call it austerity.
Will Starmer’s chainsaw be Black & Decker or Fisher Price? March 13, 2025 On Monday I used this column to ask who, if anyone, will have the courage to take a chainsaw to the British state. It’s an inelegant metaphor, but an effective one as Argentina’s Javier Milei and Elon Musk in the US revel in the process of hacking away at state infrastructure. Milei won his election [...]
Labour’s jobs tax will hit working families hardest March 13, 2025 With less than four weeks to go before Labour National Insurance starts to bite, it’s clear which sectors will be harmed the most: Those that hard-working families rely on, says Mel Stride The clock is ticking. We’re now less than four weeks away from the implementation of Labour’s disastrous jobs tax. But let’s be clear [...]
PMQs: Starmer accused of ‘trash’ talking and ‘job-killing’ by Badenoch March 12, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer was accused of talking “trash” and leading a “job-killing” government by Kemi Badenoch at a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions session. The Conservative Party leader hit out at the Prime Minister amid clashes over the state of the UK’s economy, councils and Labour’s Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Badenoch responded [...]
Regulator will drop plans to ‘name and shame’ UK companies March 12, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to announce that it will shelve plans to “name and shame” companies accused of falling foul of its rules. Following pressure to drop the controversial policy, the financial watchdog will U-turn on the new threshold for disclosing more public details on companies under investigation. Announced back in February [...]