14 h. ago Raise taxes or this government will fail, Rachel Reeves’s former top adviser warns

Exclusive: Ex-Treasury minister Jim O’Neill has warned Reeves will have to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT to fill the £5bn black hole left by the welfare climbdown

Events

33 h. ago Raising a big tax is Rachel Reeves' only way of balancing the books to fill fiscal black hole, experts warn

It came as a damning new poll by YouGov showed that three-quarters of Britons believe Ms Reeves will smash Labour's vow by putting up one of the UK's main taxes.

Events

61 h. ago Trump bill live: Hakeem Jeffries shatters records with ‘magic minute’ speech delaying ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

President’s tax and spending plan advances after long night of haggling with Republican holdouts but Minority Leader taking ‘sweet time’ to rebuke opposition over Medicaid cuts

Politics

64 h. ago British star explains ‘extravagant plans’ for how he’ll spend Wimbledon prize money

World No. 281 Jack Pinnington Jones hopes the prize money he has banked by reaching the second round at Wimbledon can make a huge difference to his tennis ambitions

Economics

65 h. ago Trump bill latest: House Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries delivers marathon speech delaying ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ from reaching floor vote

President’s tax and spending plan advances after long night of haggling with Republican holdouts but Minority Leader taking ‘sweet time’ to rebuke opposition over Medicaid cuts

Politics

2 d. ago Trump bill latest: Breakthrough as ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ set for floor vote after president rants ‘MAGA is not happy’

President’s tax and spending plan advances after long night of haggling with Republican holdouts

Politics

2 d. ago Trump bill latest: President warns Republicans ‘MAGA is not happy’ as ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ stalls

GOP stalled on second rules vote, with Democrats all present, to block the president’s tax and spending plan

Politics

3 d. ago Trump bill latest: ‘Big Beautiful’ July 4 in peril as House Republicans struggle to find votes

GOP stalled on second rules vote as Democrats all present to block president’s tax and spending plan

Politics

3 d. ago No 10 defends chancellor after day of bitter recriminations over welfare bill fiasco

Rachel Reeves said to have PM’s full backing after she was in tears in the Commons amid fallout of Labour’s welfare bill U-turnKeir Starmer has been forced to defend his chancellor after a day in which the bitter recriminations over Labour’s welfare bill fiasco appeared to leave Rachel Reeves in tears and the markets in turmoil.Ministers said there would be long-lasting implications for the government’s spending priorities after it was forced to abandon the central plank of its welfare changes to prevent a damaging defeat by rebel MPs. Continue reading...

Economics

3 d. ago Welfare cuts chaos: Tax rises loom within months after Starmer's 'shambolic' benefit reforms 'saved nothing'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces a £5 billion hole in her tax and spending plans

Economics

6 d. ago US energy groups spend record sums on power plants to feed data centres

Rising capital expenditure raises fears of higher energy prices for consumers

Economics

8 d. ago The tax hikes Rachel Reeves could impose to plug the benefits U

Britons are on high alert for further tax hikes after Starmer's latest U-turn on proposed changes to benefits.

Politics

1 week ago NATO boss praises ‘Dear Donald’ for pushing alliance to boost defense spending: ‘You made this change possible’

Secretary General Mark Rutte credits Trump with pushing for ‘concrete plan’ to have member nations spend at least five percent of GDP on defense

Economics

1 week ago ‘Another big success’: Nato leader flatters Trump before The Hague summit

Mark Rutte is keen to ensure US president’s support and secure agreement among members on defence spendingIn The Hague, the Nato summit waits for Donald Trump – and no one more so than the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte. “You are flying into another big success,” Rutte wrote in a text on Tuesday, one of several released shortly afterwards by a hyperactive Trump as he travelled across the Atlantic in Air Force One.The sycophantic messages from the Dutchman had compared Nato’s plan to dramatically increase defence spending to the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend: “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do.” Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Europe’s pledge to spend more on military will hurt climate and social programmes

Nato spending plan overlooks risks to security posed by environmental breakdown and social decay, say economistsEurope risks choosing militarism over social and environmental security, economists have warned, as the head of Nato said all 32 members had agreed to increase weapons spending.Analyses drafted in anticipation of a Nato summit beginning on Tuesday warned of the opportunity cost that higher military spending would pose to the continent’s climate mitigation and social programmes, which are consistently underfunded. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Trump’s strikes on Iran could upend delicate plans for NATO summit deal on defense spending

NATO leaders hoping summit will result in commitment to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense amid threats from Russia

Politics

1 week ago Germany to boost defence spending at faster rate than France or UK

Berlin plans a 70% increase in military spending to €162bn by 2029, according to leaked paper

Politics

2 w. ago Spain rejects Nato plan for member states to spend 5% of GDP on defence

PM Pedro Sánchez says he wants a ‘more flexible formula’ that would make target optional or allow Madrid to opt outSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”.Sánchez said that he was not seeking to complicate next week’s Nato summit in The Hague, but he wanted there to be a “more flexible formula” that would either make the target optional or allow Spain to opt out. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ministers set out plans to spend £725bn on UK infrastructure over 10 years

Government strategy includes spending £9bn a year on fixing schools, hospitals, courts and prisonsMinisters have pledged to spend £9bn a year on fixing crumbling schools, hospitals, courts and prisons over the next decade as part of the government’s infrastructure strategy.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, set out plans on Thursday to spend a minimum of £725bn over 10 years to boost UK-wide infrastructure and achieve a “national renewal”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Brits braced for tax rises as two thirds fear Rachel Reeves will need to hammer the public and firms or up borrowing to pay for Spending Review

Two thirds of voters (67 per cent) believe that the Chancellor's plans set out last week mean she will either hit them in the pocket or increase borrowing.

Economics