UK economy grows despite Iran war hit Economics The UK economy grew marginally in May after strong performance in parts of the services sector helped soften the impact of Iran war and narrowly prevented a contraction. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed the economy grew 0.1 per cent in May, broadly in line with market expectations. The services [...]
Business groups warn against axing ‘fundamental’ red tape watchdog Regulation Some of Britain’s largest business groups have urged the business secretary not to scrap a body responsible for scrutinising business regulation, saying it plays a “fundamental” role evaluating the impact of red tape on British firms. The intervention comes as the Department for Business confirmed to Morning Wire that ministers are “considering the role” of [...]
Watch: Spotlight turns on Reeves – and the state of our economy Economics We haven’t heard much from Rachel Reeves so far this year – probably a deliberate strategy – but is the Chancellor set to make waves next week at the Spring Statement? Rachel Reeves didn’t have a great 2025. UK quarterly GDP growth peaked in Q1 at 0.7 per cent as firms front-loaded their activity to [...]
GDP: UK faces ‘most dismal decade for growth in 100 years’ February 12, 2026 The UK economy had a minor expansion in the fourth quarter of 2025 coming a touch below expectations as an expected boost from the services sector failed to come to fruition. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy expanded a sluggish 0.1 per cent in three months to December 2025. [...]
‘Spectre of recession’ looms with growth set to dim in 2026 December 22, 2025 The government is facing a critical warning over the looming “spectre of recession” after economic growth stalled in the second half of 2025 and is expected to wane in the new year. On Monday, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) downgraded the economy’s second quarter expansion to a sluggish 0.2 per cent [...]
The Leaky War: How Rachel Reeves and the OBR came to blows December 4, 2025 Between 5:16am and 11:30am on the day of the Budget, as Rachel Reeves was putting the finishing touches to her House of Commons speech, 7 audacious internet users made 44 attempts to break into the servers of Britain’s fiscal watchdog to get an early glimpse of her plans. An hour before Reeves stood up in [...]
OBR warns higher taxes could hit growth ‘by more than expected’ November 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that increasing the tax burden could leave the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s key forecasts on shakier ground as it becomes harder to predict how measures hamper growth. In the small print of its Budget report, the fiscal watchdog said increasing the tax take could lead to unforeseen consequences [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Entain, Flutter sound alarm in Reeves’ tax raid aftermath November 27, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The dust has settled on the Labour government’s second Autumn Budget and Brits have been left reeling from a £26bn tax raid. Taxes collected as a share of GDP are set to jump to an all-time high in the coming years, according to the Office [...]
OBR accidentally publishes full Budget before Reeves speech November 26, 2025 The government will freeze income tax thresholds, implement a mansion tax and freeze fuel duty according to an unprecedented leak from the government’s fiscal watchdog that revealed its full scorecard for the Budget update before the Chancellor delivered her speech. The Office for Budget Responsibility released its full report on the government’s fiscal plans for [...]
Autumn Budget Live: Wealthy, landlords and pensions hit in £26bn tax raid November 26, 2025 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. In a shocking turn of events the UK fiscal watchdog has accidentally released the economic forecasts – intended to be published after the Budget – before the Chancellor even took to the despatch box. Rachel Reeves has raised taxes by £26bn in her second Budget, which follows on [...]