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 [...]
‘I haven’t paid an HMRC fine’ Hunt confirms, as calls mount for Zahawi to go over tax fiasco January 27, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he has never paid a tax fine, as ministers’ financial affairs come under scrutiny amid growing calls from Conservatives for Nadhim Zahawi to stand down. Hunt raised suspicions by twice refusing to say whether he has paid a penalty as he took questions after an economic speech, claiming the public are [...]
Hunt: ‘No conceivable circumstances’ where HS2 does NOT reach Euston – as £1bn spend on its station is breached January 27, 2023 HS2 Ltd’s work at Euston started six years ago with more than £1 billion already spent, as chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it’s not “conceivable” it won’t reach London. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which HS2 would not run to its planned central London terminus at Euston, amid reports [...]
The best cut is inflation: Hunt hits back at recession ‘declinism’ but appears to rule out tax cuts in March budget January 27, 2023 Jeremy Hunt today hit back at gloomy assessments about the UK’s economic prospects but told voters not to expect tax cuts at the March budget. In a speech at Bloomberg, the chancellor said “declinism about Britain is just wrong” adding that the economy has actually grown faster than fellow G7 nations France, Italy and Japan. [...]