Starmer moots closer ties with EU amid Trump row Politics Sir Keir Starmer has mooted building closer ties on various sectors of the economy with the European Union after President Trump suggested he was considering pulling the US out of Nato. In a press conference on Wednesday, Starmer billed strengthening ties with the EU at an upcoming summit as part of a wider push to [...]
Ministers must ‘trade more’ in face of Iran war Business The government must keep the option of an energy bailout for businesses on the table if oil prices continue to spike, the British Chambers of Commerce boss will say in a speech urging ministers to “trade more, not less” in the face of the Iran war. Shevaun Haviland will warn of the “profound” impact that [...]
Peter Kyle hints at push for EU customs union return Politics Business and trade secretary Peter Kyle suggested joining the EU’s customs union could improve the UK’s economic prospects, with new data suggesting that trade flows in London boomed last year. After being asked twice whether war in the Middle East provided a stronger case for the UK to join the customs union, Kyle refused to [...]
Firms scramble to keep up as the UK prepares to align with EU food standards March 25, 2026 Fans of Clarkson’s Farm will know that, for British farmers, dealing with the EU presents an endless stream of headaches and paperwork. But things are changing fast – too fast, many worry – in the UK’s complex web of food production, and farmers and manufacturers are scrambling to meet changes in legislation coming down the [...]
Iceland versus Iceland: Trademark feud put on ice March 4, 2026 The decades-long trademark dispute between UK retailer Iceland and its Nordic namesake looks to be thawing as the supermarket’s boss offered discounts for shoppers in Reykjavik. Executive chair Richard Walker has signalled an end to the frosty dispute between Iceland and Iceland which was kicked off by his father, the retailer’s co-founder Malcom Walker. The [...]
UK has ‘done little to diverge’ from Europe since Brexit February 24, 2026 The UK has “done little to diverge” with the European Union on regulation since Brexit, a new report suggests, but that has not stopped the bloc’s own legislation increasing divergence between the two jurisdictions. Across a swathe of issues, analysts at UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) said the UK had cleaved much closer to [...]
‘I can do terrible things’: Trump launches fresh tariffs tirade February 23, 2026 The government has said that no response to Donald Trump’s revived trade onslaught is off the table, after the President warned he could still do “terrible things” to the US’s trading partners despite his ‘liberation day’ tariffs being deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. A spokesman for the Prime Minister told reporters that while “no [...]
UK needs deeper integration with EU, says Starmer February 14, 2026 The UK will seek “deeper economic integration” with the European Union and move closer to the single market in more sectors, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister admitted the current “status quo is not fit for purpose” and the UK needs to work closer with the European [...]
‘Very clever’ – Mandelson shared sensitive advice with Epstein at height of Eurozone drama February 3, 2026 Peter Mandelson sent Jeffrey Epstein sensitive advice concerning the liquidity of the UK financial system and the stability of the euro that had been shared with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In the exchange, which took place in May 2010 at the height of the Eurozone debt crisis and in the turbulent political aftermath of the [...]
Division in Davos: EU warns tariffs could hit US ‘very quickly’ January 21, 2026 The EU has warned that its retaliatory tariffs could be implemented “very quickly” after President Trump doubled down on his desire to annex Greenland. The EU’s economic commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, said the EU was prepared to respond to US tariff threats, dialling up the risk of an extraordinary clash between the world’s largest economy and [...]