The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the UK economy to grow more slowly than all other Group of Seven (G-7) advanced economies, though it has upgraded its forecast for the country. The latest IMF forecast shows that UK economic output is expected to contract by 0.3 percent this year before rebounding to grow by 1…

Delays in building the final stretch of the high-speed railway HS2 to Euston Station in central London will mean extra costs and potentially even higher spending, a government spending watchdog has warned. Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced earlier this month that “inflationary pressures” will cause delays to the construction of key parts of HS2. He…

Inflation in the UK rose unexpectedly last month as vegetable shortages pushed food prices to their highest rate in more than 45 years, official figures show. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 10.4 percent in the 12 months to February 2023, up…

The cost of the UK government’s energy support scheme caused public sector borrowing to soar to a record £16.7 billion last month, official figures show. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), public sector net borrowing in February was £16.7 billion, £9.7 billion more than the same month a year ago and the highest…

Britain’s central bank has said the UK financial system remains “safe and sound” as it seeks to calm fears after the Swiss government mediated the merger between the country’s two largest banks to save Credit Suisse from collapse. Swiss investment banking company UBS announced on Sunday evening it will purchase its rival Credit Suisse in…

Britain is expected to be the worst-performing economy in the G-20 apart from Russia this year and next, according to new analysis from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The UK’s GDP is expected to fall by 0.2 percent this year, followed by a rise of 0.9 percent next year, the OECD said…

The UK’s tax burden is on course to be the highest since the Second World War, the government’s official economic forecaster has said. The tax burden is expected to reach a post-war high of 37.7 percent of GDP in 2027–28, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR’s document, released on Wednesday to…

An £11 billion increase in defence spending, announced in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget on Wednesday, will not be enough to regenerate the “hollowed-out” British Army, a senior MP has warned. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative and former captain in the British Army who chairs Parliament’s defence committee, said the bulk of the money announced by Hunt…

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has extended subsidised childcare to children as young as 9 months old in what has been described by one economic expert as a “crowd-pleaser” in the run-up to the next general election. In a move which had been widely trailed in the media, Hunt announced in Wednesday’s Budget 30 hours a…

Commentary America is scraping the financial bottom of a debt crisis while overloaded with high taxes and navigating between the shoals of inflation and the sandbars of recession. President Joe Biden’s administration, meanwhile, wants to have all the pros without acknowledging any of the cons—by taxing more, spending more, growing the debt and, inscrutably, inventing…