2 h. ago UK economy was doing even better than previously thought under the Tories before Labour took power, figures show

The revised GDP data adds to the evidence of Rachel Reeves ' dismal stewardship just days after the Budget watchdog halved its forecast for growth this year.

Politics

13 h. ago We must liberate our brilliant entrepreneurs to stop this disastrous economic stall

The flatlining of the economy isn’t just sad; it’s a complete disaster

Economics

16 h. ago Putin vows to 'finish off' Ukraine and mocks Britain for its economy as he boards nuclear submarine in Arctic during Vance's 'hostile' visit to Greenland 

The Kremlin chief's comments reflect his growing confidence in the fate of his war in Ukraine, not least because the United States is holding Volodymyr Zelensky over a barrel.

Politics

16 h. ago ‘Was this new age austerity always coming?’ Your spring statement questions answered by Andrew Grice

In this exclusive Q&A session, The Independent’s political commentator Andrew Grice tackles welfare cuts, taxation, and the economic challenges facing the UK

Politics

18 h. ago FTSE 100 Live 28 March: New name for WH Smith high street stores, retail sales beat hopes

The WH Smith name is to disappear from the high street after 233 years.

Politics

18 h. ago Putin vows to 'finish off' Ukraine and mocks Britain for its economy and small armed forces

The Kremlin chief's comments reflect his growing confidence in the fate of his war in Ukraine, not least because the United States is holding Volodymyr Zelensky over a barrel.

Politics

18 h. ago China’s Xi urges global CEOs to protect trade supply chains; UK’s 2024 growth revised higher – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsToday’s UK national accounts data also shows that people stashed away more of their money into savings at the end of last year.The household saving ratio, which measure the proportion of income that is saved, rose to 12% in October-December 2024, up from 10.3% in the third quarter of last year.One bright spot was the impressive 1.9% q/q (CE forecast 0.7% q/q) rise in consumers’ real incomes in Q4. The 4.2% rise in 2024 as a whole suggests households experienced the strongest real income growth in nine years.With consumer spending hardly rising, at 12.0% in Q4 (up from 10.3% in Q3), the saving rate remains unusually high, suggesting households are choosing to save rather than spend the bulk of those gains.Non-food stores – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – rose by 3.1% over the month. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022.“The exceptional volatility in rec...

Economics

19 h. ago FTSE 100 Live 28 March: WH Smith sells high street stores, retail sales beat hopes

The WH Smith name is to disappear from the high street after 233 years.

Politics

19 h. ago Strong retail sales growth in February point to "green shoots" in the economy

The strong figures will raise hopes in Government that the sluggish economy will start to get moving again

Economics

19 h. ago UK economy eked out growth at the end of 2024, figures confirm

This is unrevised from the ONS’s first estimate, confirming a picture of a sluggish economy over the second half of the year.

Economics

40 h. ago Donald Trump's latest US tariffs could plunge UK economy into crisis as early as next week

The US President announced a 25% import tariff on all cars coming into the US - and is also set to announce a potential tariff on UK exports of up to 20% by next week

Politics

41 h. ago Spring statement latest: Reeves won’t ‘escalate trade wars’ as Trump’s latest tariffs could hit UK economy

A 25 per cent tariff on vehicles imported to the US will come into effect on 2 April, the US president announced

Events

43 h. ago Trump warns 'if the EU and Canada work to do economic harm to the USA' they will be hit with 'far LARGER tariffs than currently planned' after slapping 25% on all foreign

The US President plans to impose a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting on April 3, and earlier in March rolled out an increase in tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from EU

Events

44 h. ago Deluded: Rachel Reeves claimed to be delivering renewal. The reality? Our growth forecast for this year has been slashed in half

On a humiliating day for the Chancellor, she was forced to deliver a £14 billion package of emergency spending cuts to avoid breaking fiscal rules she wrote herself only five months ago.

Politics

45 h. ago Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on car imports dealing new blow to UK and global economy

The move came only hours after Britain’s budget watchdog warned Trump’s threatened tariffs on the UK could force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise taxes or cut spending

Economics

51 h. ago Angela Rayner's workers' rights bonanza 'will hammer jobs market and the economy', watchdog warns

In a blow to Labour's deputy leader, the Office for Budget Responsibility said it did not have enough detail about her Employment Rights Bill to deliver a full verdict on its consequences.

Events

52 h. ago Rachel Reeves branded delusional for claiming to be restoring economic stability

On a humiliating day for the Chancellor, she was forced to deliver a £14 billion package of emergency spending cuts to avoid breaking fiscal rules she wrote herself only five months ago.

Economics

59 h. ago Spring Statement 2025 LIVE: Rachel Reeves warned economic plans could be derailed as UK growth forecast slashed

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has presented her first highly-anticipated Spring Statement to parliament.

Events

59 h. ago Rachel Reeves clings on for dear life, but if this spring statement doesn’t work she’ll be out

Far from becoming better any time soon, it looks like things can only get worse

Politics

60 h. ago Industry figures call for further investment in AI to boost UK economy

Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her spring statement to announce plans for more investment in AI technology for the public sector and defence.

Economics