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The Guardian Politics9 Mar 2026

Starmer seeks to reassure public over cost of living as oil surges above $100 a barrel - UK politics live

The prime minister is facing pressure from unions and some backbenchers to prepare a support package as oil and gas prices threaten to push up inflation Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics as governments around the world brace for major disruption to energy supplies as a result of the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran. Keir Starmer is expected to promise to protect the British public from the economic impact of the war after oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics7 Mar 2026

UK recruiter emerges from insolvency for third time, avoiding millions owed in tax

Hampshire business seems to have benefited from ‘phoenixism’, which costs the taxpayer about £800m a year A UK recruitment business has been acquired out of administration for a third time in four years as part of a succession of deals that left some of the former management team in place and millions of pounds owed to the public purse. The chain of insolvencies appears to contain more examples of phoenixism – a process when companies are liquidated and directors are able to rise from the ashes

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics5 Mar 2026

The Guardian view on rising youth unemployment: regional leaders as well as ministers must take action | Editorial

Worsening health is only part of the reason for the concerning rise in young people who are neither studying nor working Launching a review into unemployment and economic inactivity among young people in December, the former health secretary Alan Milburn described the situation as a “national outrage”, and suggested that a “coalition of the concerned” would be needed to turn things around for the 16- to 24-year-olds known as Neets (not in education, employment or training). The latest figures, s

EconomyEducation
The Guardian Politics5 Mar 2026

Cruelty to immigrants is not what my party stands for. It’s time for True Labour, not Blue Labour | Stella Creasy

We must get back to the party’s roots before it is too late. That means embracing difference, rejecting division – and fighting for opportunities for all The 1951 Labour government proudly signed the refugee convention. Today’s Labour government is now in danger of consigning it to history. Why and how this is happening challenges those of us who are both socialists and democrats. For our economy, our society and our sanity we must reject the thinking of the Blue Labour faction and set out what

EconomyImmigration
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

The Guardian view on Labour’s migration gamble: Denmark is no template | Editorial

Extending settlement waits risks deepening labour shortages while misreading public concern about migration’s economic and demographic realities The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected this week to press ahead with plans to make it harder for migrants to gain settled status, extending the wait from five to 10 years. She will not change tack despite Labour’s crushing byelection defeat to the Greens. This is a mistake. Ms Mahmood argues that Denmark’s Social Democrats curbed inflows to pr

PoliticsEconomyImmigrationEnvironment
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

The Guardian view on Rachel Reeves’s spring statement: stability cannot mean sacrificing living standards | Editorial

An energy shock from war in the Gulf will expose the limits of rigid fiscal rules. The real question is who absorbs the loss: the state, firms or households? The war in the Middle East has sent oil and gas prices soaring – and Britain remains deeply exposed to global energy markets. If the shocks persist they will feed directly into household bills, business costs and inflation. On Tuesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility released projections that were finalised before the US-Israeli strike

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

What will Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast mean for household finances?

The chancellor promised more money in people’s pockets, but the Iran crisis makes steeper inflation a pressing worry Rachel Reeves used her spring statement to insist her economic policies are working and things are looking up for household finances after the cost of living crisis. The chancellor trumpeted that by the next general election “people will be over £1,000 a year better off”. But against the backdrop of war in the Middle East, financial experts warned that the new economic forecasts p

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

‘It’s no news just when we wanted some’: Business leaders react to spring statement

Amid global volatility, Rachel Reeves tried to project calm with a low-key forecast. But business owners have their doubts Rachel Reeves gave a deliberately low-key spring forecast on Tuesday, in an attempt to project calm amid volatility abroad and after repeated tax rising budgets. But for some business owners struggling with rising costs, a lack of policy announcements this time around was a disappointment. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Unemployment set to hit 5.3% this year amid ‘worrying’ rise in young jobless

OBR raises forecast from 4.9% and downgrades UK’s growth prospects for 2026 – while also warning of war uncertainty Unemployment in the UK is set to peak this year at a higher rate than previously estimated, with a “worrying” increase in young people being out of work, the government’s official forecaster has said. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said unemployment will peak at 5.3% this year, up from its previous forecast in November of 4.9%. Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Reeves’s spring statement? The economy is great, don’t worry about the Middle East

With no spending or fiscal commitments to offer, the chancellor kept it short, sweet and just a little tin-eared When your luck is out, your luck is out. Time to accept what the fates have to throw at you. It was always going to be a bit of a stretch for Rachel Reeves to maintain she had a brilliant plan and the economy had never been in better health when the figures show a fall in growth and a rise in unemployment. Unless you happen to think those things aren’t so bad after all. To do so three

Economy
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Rachel Reeves claims UK economy can beat forecasts again – is she right? Our writers discuss

The chancellor insists Labour has ‘the right economic plan’ for a world that has become ‘yet more uncertain’ Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Reeves’s talk of stability may be misplaced amid Iran war turmoil

Attempt to project calm in spring forecast may be short-lived if living costs and unemployment keep climbing Reeves insists Labour has ‘right economic plan’ Business live – latest updates “This government has restored economic stability,” Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons on Tuesday. Yet the chancellor was speaking just moments after MPs had been hearing from the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, about plans to evacuate British nationals from the escalating conflagration in the Middle E

PoliticsEconomyDefence