8 h. ago ALEX BRUMMER: Far from making America great again, Trump Slump has caused global chaos

Donald Trump has presided over an economy that is reviving memories of the Great Depression. Unless he sees sense, his decisions will continue putting all our savings at risk.

Politics

44 h. ago Prince William's true feelings about 'toxic' Prince Andrew after he 'pushed' for exile

Prince William, among other members of the Firm, is understood to have a 'strained' relationship with Prince Andrew and has been 'instrumental' in the Duke of York being stripped of royal responsibility

Politics

63 h. ago The Guardian view on a new deal for travel in Europe: bring back student exchanges | Editorial

The EU is expected to push for special youth visas at next month’s summit. Sir Keir Starmer should say yesStrong hints that a rebranded “youth opportunity scheme” will top the EU’s wishlist at next month’s EU-UK summit are good news for anyone who regrets the diminished travel opportunities that were one result of Brexit. Rising expectations of new European train routes – possibly including direct trains from London to Italy – can only add to the appeal of a potential rule change.There were more consequential impacts of Brexit than restrictions on travel. The disruption of trade, which is predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility to cause a 4% reduction in long-run productivity, is far more significant economically. Drug shortages continue to create risks to people’s health, and cause problems for doctors and pharmacists. Cancer research and trials have also been badly affected, according to a new report, because of the increased difficulty of attracting scientists and fundi...

Economics

5 d. ago Britain needs houses, and Labour’s bold plan will address that. But it may require more migrants | Polly Toynbee

Ministers are ready to be relentless over planning reform. There is a skills gap though – and they must be brave enough to fill itAmid the shock of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) halving its growth forecast last month, one remarkable finding gets too little attention. It predicts housebuilding will rise to its highest level in 40 years, adding 0.2% growth or £6.8bn by 2029-30, potentially rising to more than 0.4% by 2034-35. The government has said that housing scores the biggest positive growth effect from a “zero-cost policy” the OBR has ever forecast.This is especially remarkable given that 2024 saw the fewest planning permissions granted for new homes for a decade, and the worst on record, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF). Planning applications plummeted when the last government scrapped councils’ mandatory housing targets, but since Labour reimposed a national planning policy framework, applications in the works have risen by more than 160%.Polly Toyn...

Events

5 d. ago Draft budget plan proposes deep cuts across federal health programs

Federal officials are circulating a draft budget proposal that would make dramatic additional cuts to federal health programs and serve as a roadmap for more mass firings

Politics

8 d. ago White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN, NATO and other groups

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters

Events

8 d. ago Trump memo outlines plan to slash US state department budget in half

Cuts would mean dramatic decreases in funding for humanitarian aid, global health and international groupsThe Trump administration is reportedly proposing to slash the state department budget by nearly half in a move that could drastically reduce US international spending and end its funding for Nato and the United Nations, according to an internal memorandum.The memo based on spending cuts devised by the White House office of management and budget envisions the total budget of the state department and USAID, the main foreign assistance body which has been largely dismantled by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, being reduced to $28.4bn, a reduction of $27bn or 48% from what Congress approved for 2025. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago ALEX BRUMMER: Labour look all at sea due to Cabinet's lack of commercial experience and wisdom

At the national level, the lack of an industrial strategy and those to execute it with skill has left the Government naked.

Politics

1 week ago We'll cut your aid if you don't take your citizens back, Friedrich Merz tells foreign countries whose residents continue immigrating to Germany

The foreign aid budget - which has been a huge source of pride for officials in the European country - could be slashed amid a raft of measures to curb illegal immigration.

Politics

1 week ago Starmer promises to listen to communities ‘failed’ by politics

Sir Keir Starmer said Labour is offering ‘fundamental change’ in the local election campaign as he announced a £30 million investment in Doncaster.

Politics

1 week ago STEPHEN GLOVER: Is Britain run by MPs or a super quango whose forecasts are as reliable as a drunk palm reader at a rowdy village fete?

Most people have probably barely heard of the Office for Budget Responsibility, known as the OBR. The unaccountable super quango has become a great power of the land.

Politics

1 week ago ALEX BRUMMER: China's furious response is the start of a truly explosive trade war

Strategic analysts have long forecast that the competition for supremacy between the world's economic superpowers, the United States and China , would end in war.

Events

2 w. ago You really have changed your tune, Sir Keir! Prime Minister says he 'personally struggles' with once

The Prime Minister said he 'personally struggled' with the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) approach in assessing a package of welfare reforms in the Spring Statement.

Politics

2 w. ago ALEX BRUMMER: This really is a global catastrophe, but the PM hasn't grasped just how vulnerable we are

Wall Street trader Bill Ackman is one of Donald Trump's most faithful backers in the financial world.

Politics

2 w. ago ALEX BRUMMER: Donald Trump's Liberation Day leaves its scars

The Wall Street Journal compares 'Liberation Day' to Richard Nixon's decision to blow up the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates in 1971. The Economist calls it 'Ruination Day'.

Politics

3 w. ago ALEX BRUMMER: If Donald Trump refuses to relent on his tariffs, we face a stock market cataclysm, global recession and a new inflationary spiral

Donald Trump avoided introducing his latest raft of tariffs today, on April 1, for fear he would be ridiculed for bringing in such radical measures on April Fool's Day, writes ALEX BRUMMER

Economics

3 w. ago Spending more on benefits would be ‘wrong approach’, Jackie Baillie says

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader defended the UK Government’s welfare cuts as she said the rise in the benefit bill is ‘unsustainable’.

Politics

3 w. ago US debt burden to top world war two peak in coming years, watchdog says

Congressional Budget Office’s forecasts come after Moody’s warned on the country’s public finances this week

Events

3 w. ago US economic growth to slow in the next 30 years, fueled by debt and declining birth rates, CBO says

Weak population gains and increased government spending will result in slower overall economic growth over the next 30 years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Thursday

Economics

3 w. ago Millions of retirees face paying some of their state pension straight back to HMRC in 'bizarre tax cliff edge'

Latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility showed how the state pension is set to rise by 4.6 per cent next April.

Economics