Trade, City of London, sterling and EU markets
The Financial Times argues Britain’s policymakers are relying on economic myths that have failed to deliver growth for over a decade. With UK productivity lagging far behind comparable economies, the cost of comfortable thinking is becoming impossible to ignore.
The UK economy grew 0.7% in early 2025, but sluggish productivity and uneven gains mean many households aren’t feeling the recovery. Here’s what GDP really tells us about Britain’s economic health.
A drug that delays the onset of type 1 diabetes by three years has been made available on the NHS for the first time. Teplizumab targets the immune system to slow the destruction of insulin-producing cells before the disease fully develops.
Katie Howett paid £18 for a Vinted ski jacket and found a gold wedding ring engraved with a 2003 anniversary date hidden in the pocket. What followed was a 36-hour social media hunt that reunited a Stockport couple with a ring lost five years ago on an Austrian ski slope.
A couple from Banbury have purchased the Barry Island home of Gavin and Stacey’s Uncle Bryn for £187,500, fulfilling a lifelong dream tied to the hit BBC sitcom. Matt and Claire Hodgson plan to open the iconic property as a fan-focused holiday let by early summer.
A new Institute for Government report warns the UK economy’s structural weaknesses are undermining the state’s ability to fund basic public services. With debt interest topping £100 billion a year and productivity flat since 2008, the fiscal outlook is grimmer than official projections admit.
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.
