Hunt must tackle worker shortage hobbling London’s economy, business groups warn February 13, 2023 London’s economy is being hamstrung by a chronic worker shortage that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt needs to tackle at the 15 March budget, a new report from Britain’s biggest business lobby groups highlighted today. Nearly two in three of the capital’s firms are struggling to fill vacancies, according to research carried out by BusinessLDN, Federation of [...]
UK lost out on £320m AstraZeneca factory: Hunt ‘disappointed’ after drug giant choses low-tax Ireland instead February 10, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he was disappointed the UK “lost out this time” on a £320 million new AstraZeneca factory after the drugs giant chose the low-tax Republic of Ireland instead. The group had wanted to build a plant near its existing sites close to Macclesfield, Cheshire, but the “discouraging” tax rate had prompted a [...]
UK narrowly avoids recession as GDP remains unchanged but Jeremy Hunt warns country ‘not out the woods yet’ February 10, 2023 The UK very narrowly avoided a recession in the final months of last year but the economy contracted sharply over Christmas, official figures out today reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP) remained unchanged in the final three months of last year, meaning the country swerved the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of contraction, according [...]
CBI: Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak must use budget to prevent recession and bolster UK economy February 9, 2023 Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak need to use the spring budget to stimulate growth to prevent the UK tipping into a recession this year, the country’s biggest business group has urged today. The chancellor and prime minister should at the 15 March statement soothe the impact of a sharp rise in the UK’s profit tax [...]
UK to narrowly avoid recession but cost of living crisis will leave families £4,000 worse off February 8, 2023 The UK is poised to narrowly avoid a recession but the cost of living crisis will still leave average Brits £4,000 worse off this year, fresh forecasts out today reveal. Britain’s economy is set to squeeze out 0.2 per cent of GDP growth in 2023, meaning it will just about swerve a technical reversal, two [...]
100,000 civil servants to walk out on Budget Day, union says February 7, 2023 Around 100,000 civil servants are set to strike on Budget Day, their union has announced, amid a campaign of walkouts over pay disputes. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said it was escalating action after a “lack of movement” from the government over its concerns over pay, pensions and job security. Walkouts will take [...]
Liz Truss admits £45bn mini budget would have been scaled back if Bank of England warned on LDI crunch February 6, 2023 Former prime minister Liz Truss has today admitted her calamitous mini-budget could have scaled back had she known about the existence of LDIs. Truss admitted in an interview with Spectator TV that she “didn’t know the existence” of LDIs – liability driven investment vehicles – which sparked a near fire sale in the pension market [...]
Liz Truss breaks silence to blame media and ‘leftward’ shift for £45bn mini budget failure February 5, 2023 Liz Truss has broken her silence for the first time since being booted out from Number 10 to hit back at critics of her tax cutting, pro-growth economic agenda. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph today, Truss, 47, said she was never given a “realistic chance” to implement sweeping tax cuts designed to unshackle businesses and [...]
FTSE 100 close: Bleak IMF UK recession warning knocks pound and London index January 31, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 dipped and the pound stumbled today, both driven lower by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning the UK is on course to be the only major economy to contract this year. The capital’s premier index fell 0.17 per cent to 7,771.69 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more [...]
UK only G7 economy to shrink this year as IMF deals blow to Jeremy Hunt recession declinism criticism January 31, 2023 Britain will emerge as the “sick man” of the world’s richest countries this year, snatching the unwanted title of being the only G7 economy to contract in 2023, according to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The world’s economic watchdog has slashed its expectations for UK GDP again, now pencilling in a 0.6 per [...]