Trade, City of London, sterling and EU markets
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has placed AI at the heart of Britain’s economic strategy, pledging over £8 billion in public investment and sweeping reforms to win the global AI race. But sceptics say energy limits and skills shortages could trip up the government’s ambitions.
A new policy framework from Funding the Future demands that care work be treated as economic infrastructure, not an afterthought. The Politics for People principles propose wealth taxes, accounting reforms, and a political coalition built around caregiving.
Keir Starmer’s personal approval rating has collapsed to minus 42 despite relatively stable economic indicators, raising uncomfortable questions inside Labour. Across Yorkshire, voters who backed the party in 2024 are turning away — and analysts say the problem has a name.
The Institute for Government has warned that the UK lacks a coherent strategy to manage the mounting economic fallout from the Iran conflict. With oil prices near $97 a barrel and shipping costs up 30%, the pressure on public finances is intensifying.
Tesco says sunshine and warm weekends shift more product than any football tournament, as UK like-for-like sales growth slows to 3.4%. The retail giant’s blunt take on what actually drives its tills is raising eyebrows across the industry.
Britain has slipped to sixth in the global GDP rankings, with economists pointing to Brexit as a central factor in the country’s declining economic standing. New data shows India has overtaken the UK, and analysts warn the gap is only growing.
Economist Mariana Mazzucato told Channel 4 that governments always find money for defence but claim empty pockets when public services need funding. Her challenge goes beyond politics — it’s about who decides what an economy is actually for.
Robert Jenrick has unveiled a sweeping economic plan centred on cutting income tax to 17p and slashing regulatory costs by £14 billion. But not everyone in his own party is buying it.
The Institute for Government warns Britain lacks both a credible growth strategy and the central authority to deliver one. Without reforms to how No.10 operates, the think tank says economic ambitions will remain hollow.
Economists and policy analysts clashed over sluggish UK growth figures and Brexit trade gaps at the latest UKICE Lunch Hour event. With fiscal headroom near its limit and political confidence shaky, the stakes could hardly be higher.
