Economy

A decade after the Brexit vote, the UK economy has grown at roughly half the rate of the eurozone while British politics was reshaped beyond recognition. The full reckoning is still being written.

Andy Burnham faces mounting pressure to back bold economic reforms that could restart Britain’s stagnant growth — but the political costs are steep. With GDP growth at just 0.1% and a potential national leadership role on the horizon, his next moves matter enormously.

The UK’s alcohol-free beer market grew by 23% in 2023, but outdated labelling rules are putting British brewers at a competitive disadvantage. Trade bodies are calling on the government to urgently align regulations with European standards.

Gussy Marcantonio has been running ice cream vans in South London for decades, and he says extreme heat is the trade’s biggest hidden challenge. We went behind the hatch to find out how operators really cope.

David Roper paid just £10 for the winning ticket in an online prize draw and is now the owner of a seven-bedroom country estate in Cheshire. The retired milkman from Rotherham says the £4 million win has changed everything for his family.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his government is converting early policy groundwork into measurable wins for workers, from wage rises to NHS improvements. But with living costs still biting, the pressure to prove it is very real.

Robert Jenrick has laid out a bold economic plan centred on tax cuts and deregulation, targeting a tax burden below 35% of GDP within a single parliament. The proposal marks the most detailed fiscal pitch of the Conservative leadership race so far.

The UK’s first romantasy bookshop has opened in Edinburgh, organised by trope rather than author and stocking 400 titles at launch. It’s the latest sign that a once-dismissed genre has firmly arrived.

Britain’s weak growth and its strained EU trading relationship dominated discussion at this week’s UKICE Lunch Hour event. Economists warned that political short-termism is making structural economic reform nearly impossible.

Power banks and vaping devices are now the number one fire risk on commercial aircraft, with dangerous lithium battery incidents in hold luggage nearly doubling in a single year. Aviation safety officials are warning the trend is moving in the wrong direction fast.