Watch: Sluggish economy puts Brits at their gloomiest for nearly 50 years April 23, 2026 Morning Wire‘s Editor, Christian May, reflects on recent polling that reveals Brits’ economic pessimism has reached depths not seen since 1978. From high taxes to sticky inflation and low growth, there is a strong sense that the country simply isn’t heading in the right direction.
Back to the 1970s: Brits know the damage being done to our economy April 23, 2026 By late 1978 Britain was in the grip of what became known as the Winter of Discontent. Waves of strike action caused huge economic and social disruption as rubbish piled up on the streets and bodies went unburied. It was a crisis for the Labour government and a low point in Britain’s recent history. It [...]
Voters have not understood the reality of a zero growth economy April 23, 2026 Since 2019, UK national income per head has grown by just 0.1 per cent a year on average. In other words, essentially zero growth. It means that the resources available to the economy, whether for private or public use, do not change, says Paul Ormerod Does life imitate art? Evelyn Waugh’s comic masterpiece Vile Bodies, [...]
Unemployment to peak at 5.8 per cent as jobs market faces ‘biggest hit’ since pandemic April 20, 2026 Britain is set to be “pushed to the brink of a technical recession” in the coming year as the economic fallout of the war in Iran dampens growth prospects and sends unemployment soaring. The latest Item Club report sees the UK economy flatlining in the second and third quarters as it digests the consequences of [...]
UK economy jumped above forecasts before Iran war April 16, 2026 The UK economy was growing ahead of expectations before the war in the Middle East erupted, official data has shown. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP grew by 0.5 per cent over February, though City analysts have suggested the figures are “too good to be true” given trends seen in recent years. In [...]
Allica Bank goes ‘turbo’ on AI as profit and loan book swells April 15, 2026 Small business lender Allica Bank has revealed a major bump to its bottom line after the bank’s loan book ballooned over the last year. The neobank – which became one of the UK’s latest fintech unicorns this year – recorded a 23 per cent rise in pre-tax profit at £36.9m, compared to £29.9 million in [...]
The OECD is right about the £100k dead zone where work doesn’t pay April 15, 2026 A household with two young children could be more than £13,000 worse off next year for accepting a routine pay rise that pushes them over the £100,000 threshold, says Michael Healy The OECD delivered a blunt message to the UK last week: simplify the tax system or accept weaker growth. That should not be ignored, [...]
Britain is far poorer than people think April 15, 2026 Most Brits do not realise they are poorer than the average Americans, Swiss, Australians or Singaporeans. When asked to rank the UK among 50 US states on GDP per capita, on average people placed the UK 7th, richer than 43 states. The truth is far more miserable – we are last, says Callum Price There’s [...]
IMF slaps UK with biggest growth downgrade of any G7 country April 14, 2026 The UK economy has suffered the biggest growth forecast downgrade of any country in the G7 in the International Monetary Fund’s spring economic outlook report, dealing a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she struggles to overcome setbacks sparked by the Iran war. Growth this year was revised down by 0.5 percentage points as trade [...]
Fuel shortages, hunger, inflation spiral: IMF fears ‘scarring’ harm from Iran war April 9, 2026 Several fuel shortages, hunger and spiralling inflation will be some of the consequences of the Iran war as the head of the International Monetary Fund said that it would leave “scarring effects” on the global economy. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, global policymakers were warned that trade disruption across the [...]