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The Guardian Politics18 Mar 2026

Reeves speech had a giant hole: the sky-high cost of energy for industry | Nils Pratley

Businesses say the chancellor’s response to the problem is too timid and more radical thinking is needed We’ll have closer trade relations with the EU, be the fastest adopters of AI in the G7, shift some tax revenues to the regions and squash the Nimbys if they stand in the way of growth “corridors”. It’s a plan. Or, at least, it’s a sketch of a plan since the EU will surely have its own ideas on what it wants from trade renegotiations. Still, Rachel Reeves’ big resetting speech this week set a

Economy
The Guardian Politics18 Mar 2026

Polanski positions Greens’ economic policy as radical alternative to Reeves

Offer to reform taxes, tackle ‘rip-off Britain’ and overhaul fiscal rules could tempt exasperated Labour supporters Zack Polanski says Greens would ditch GDP targets and focus on wellbeing instead The venue for Zack Polanski’s economic speech on Wednesday – a sunny north London garden centre – could hardly have been more different to the sombre City backdrop for Rachel Reeves’s Mais lecture on Tuesday. The chancellor was, as it happens, the last politician to give a major economic speech at th

EconomyEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics18 Mar 2026

Zack Polanski says Greens would ditch GDP targets and focus on wellbeing instead

Leader uses first major economic speech to prioritise public services and reduction of inequality over growth UK politics live – latest updates A government led by the Green party would not set targets for GDP growth but would instead focus on people’s mental health, social cohesion and community welfare, Zack Polanski has said in a major speech to set out his plans for the economy. In his first policy address since taking over as leader of the Greens in England and Wales six months ago, Polan

PoliticsEconomyEnvironmentHealthcare
The Guardian Politics18 Mar 2026

Side hustles: what you need to know about paying tax in the UK

Whether it’s buying and selling clothes online or some freelance work on the side, plan ahead for potential tax issues Since the start of 2024, online platforms such as Vinted, eBay and Airbnb have been required to share data with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for any users who sell more than 30 items a year or earn more than about £1,700 (the threshold is set at €2,000) a year. However, this does not necessarily mean that those users owe any additional income tax. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics18 Mar 2026

‘Basics’ of life in Britain have been sold for profit, says Polanski

Exclusive: England and Wales Greens leader outlines economic policy including help to meet rising energy costs and water re-nationalisation Successive governments have turned the UK from a manufacturing economy to one where the basics of life have been privatised and are rented back to people at a crushing cost, Zack Polanski will say. In a speech billed as the Green leader’s biggest policy intervention since he took over as leader six months ago, Polanski will argue that decades of gradual econ

EconomyEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics17 Mar 2026

Reeves plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues

Chancellor seeks to tackle centralised and ‘geographically unequal’ country in ‘a genuine break with the past’ Business live – latest updates Rachel Reeves has announced that the Treasury will draw up plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues as part of a radical plan to rebalance the economy of England. Setting out her intention of creating “investment-led growth”, the chancellor promised “a genuine break with the past” that would shift spending power away from Westminst

Economy
The Guardian Politics17 Mar 2026

Rachel Reeves to call for rapid AI adoption and deeper ties with EU to boost growth – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news The number of people in England and Wales falling into insolvency has jumped. There were 11,609 individual insolvencies registered in England and Wales in February, the Insolvency Service has reported this morning. This was 18% higher than in February 2025 and 6% higher than in January 2026. The individual insolvencies consisted of 768 bankruptcies, 4,210 debt relief orders (DROs) and 6,631 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The n

Economy
The Guardian Politics16 Mar 2026

Trump’s war is bringing economic calamity to the UK – and another shock to our politics | Gaby Hinsliff

Hard choices lie ahead for Downing Street if higher fuel prices spark resentment and trigger a renewed cost of living crisis Seventy years ago this winter, the streets of Britain fell eerily quiet. After one last panic buying spree, many garages shut, and traffic even in the heart of London dwindled away. The formal introduction of petrol rationing had begun, limiting drivers to 200 miles’ worth a month – with exceptions for farmers, doctors and vicars – after the Suez crisis blocked fuel suppli

PoliticsEconomyDefenceHealthcare
The Guardian Politics16 Mar 2026

Can Starmer avoid being drawn into the US-Iran war? – podcast

The PM says the UK will not be dragged into wider war in the Middle East and pledges support to households struggling to pay for heating oil. Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk about what the government is doing to support people during the cost of living crisis and the fallout from the war. Plus a look at Brussels as the government works on another EU-reset to create closer ties Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics16 Mar 2026

Britons should strive to pay minimum tax legally possible, says Richard Tice

Reform UK’s deputy leader comments came as he was responding to questions raised about his own tax affairs All Britons should do their best to pay the minimum tax possible, Reform UK’s deputy leader has argued as he dismissed a newspaper investigation over his own tax affairs as a smear. Richard Tice, who was presenting a press conference on Monday about Reform’s claims to have saved large sums of money in the English councils it runs, faced questions about a Sunday Times story which detailed a

EconomyReform
The Guardian Politics15 Mar 2026

Labour has weapons in its arsenal to cushion the poorest from Iran war economic fallout | Heather Stewart

Timely end of two-child limit plus a healthy uptick in universal credit signals ‘lifechanging’ boost to Britons most exposed to ‘Trumpflation’ It doesn’t involve warships, drones or strategic oil stocks, but one of Labour’s most potent weapons for containing the economic aftershocks from the Iran war for the UK is about to be unleashed: the scrapping of the two-child limit. If the cost of essential goods spikes as a result of high oil prices it is the poorest households who will be the most expo

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics14 Mar 2026

Invisible datacentres and capricious chips: is UK’s AI bubble about to burst?

Datacentre investment boom is one of the biggest infrastructure gambles of this era, and Britain may be uniquely exposed Stargate was to be the world’s biggest AI investment: a $500bn infrastructure project to “secure American leadership in AI”. Never shy of hyperbole, its key backer, the ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, promised “massive economic benefit for the entire world” with facilities to help people “use AI to elevate humanity”. Now, OpenAI appears to be dropping out of a part of the deal – the exp

Economy