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294 headlines found — Page 24 of 25

The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Spring forecast: Reeves insists Labour has ‘right economic plan’ as 2026 growth downgraded

Chancellor says she is in close touch with Bank of England governor and is meeting energy companies amid soaring oil and gas prices Business live – latest updates Rachel Reeves insisted Labour has “the right economic plan” for a world that has become “yet more uncertain” as she delivered a spring forecast that downgraded growth for this year. The chancellor was addressing MPs against the backdrop of surging energy prices, as investors fret about the impact of the spiralling conflict in the Mid

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Spring forecast: Rachel Reeves to insist government has ‘right economic plan’, as Middle East crisis threatens inflation spike – live updates

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including the UK’s spring forecast Rachel Reeves’s plans could be hit by Middle East conflict, say economists Soaring global energy prices as a result of the widening Middle East conflict will jeopardise Rachel Reeves’s plan to conquer inflation and rekindle growth, economists have warned as she prepares to deliver her spring forecast later today. Responding to the latest projections from the independent Office for Budget Responsibili

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics3 Mar 2026

Rachel Reeves’s plans could be hit by Middle East conflict, say economists

Warning comes as OBR projections in the spring forecast are expected to show public finances moving in the right direction Soaring global energy prices as a result of the widening Middle East conflict will jeopardise Rachel Reeves’s plan to conquer inflation and rekindle growth, economists have warned as she prepares to deliver her spring forecast later today. Responding to the latest projections from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the chancellor will insist she has “the

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics2 Mar 2026

MPs’ basic salary to rise to £110,000 by end of parliament, watchdog says

Ipsa cites abuse and constituency workloads as reasons for above-inflation increase of 5% over next financial year The basic annual salary of MPs will rise to £110,000, the expenses watchdog has said, on the grounds of increased abuse and intimidation as well as growing constituency workloads. This year, MPs’ basic pay will rise by almost £5,000, a jump of 5% over the next financial year to £98,599 – and will reach £110,000 by the end of the parliament. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics2 Mar 2026

UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries

Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced UK programmes to protect nature and the climate in developing countries are suffering swingeing budget cuts despite ministers’ promises, the Guardian has learned. The cuts belie the government’s claims to be fulfilling international obligations on climate finance and are veiled behind a system that experts have slammed as opaque. The cutting and partial closure of the £10

EconomyEnvironment
The Guardian Politics2 Mar 2026

UK house prices rise in February as chancellor avoids ‘negative speculation’

Rachel Reeves’ upcoming spring forecast has not led to slowdown, as property tax rumours did in November Business live – latest updates UK politics live – latest updates House prices in the UK increased in February as Rachel Reeves avoided a repeat of the pre-budget “negative speculation” that depressed the market, as she prepares to present the spring forecast on Tuesday. The average price of a home rose to £273,176 last month, up 0.3% from the month before, Nationwide said. It matched Janua

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics1 Mar 2026

OBR a backseat driver with out-of-date maps, thinktanks tell Rachel Reeves

Chancellor urged to reform Office for Budget Responsibility to open way to more public investment Rachel Reeves must reform the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to open the way to more public investment, an alliance of thinktanks has argued ahead of the chancellor’s spring forecast on Tuesday. With Keir Starmer’s government under intense pressure after Labour’s defeat by the Greens in Thursday’s Gorton and Denton byelection, the thinktanks called on Reeves to review the watchdog’s remit.

PoliticsEconomyEnvironment
The Guardian Politics1 Mar 2026

Boring or bust: Reeves aims to project calm competence in spring budget

After 18 months of policy U-turns and political turmoil we are told not to expect any last-minute policy rabbits Politicians tend to hate being boring but Rachel Reeves will be delighted if Tuesday’s spring forecast is judged by voters and financial markets to be reassuringly dull. After Labour’s catastrophic Gorton and Denton byelection result, the chancellor’s future, along with that of the prime minister, is on the line, as backbench MPs fret about the party’s electoral prospects. Continue r

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics28 Feb 2026

It’s been decreed: something must be done about student loans in England

The education secretary wants a fairer system and the Tories have leapt in with their own plan – but why now? For anyone who attended university in England in the last 15 or so years, the idea of student loans feeling like some sort of debt trap is hardly news. But three weeks ago, when the journalist Oli Dugmore discussed this on the BBC’s Question Time, it felt like a moment. It was less the size of the initial debt, he explained, than the way above-inflation interest rates meant the interest

EconomyEducation
The Guardian Politics27 Feb 2026

I saw how the Greens channelled voters’ anger – and fused it with hope. That’s why they won in Gorton and Denton | Owen Jones

Starmer called the byelection a battle for the nation’s soul. This result shows Labour has lost that – and I think it will lose much more It wasn’t even close. The scale of victory of the Green party’s Hannah Spencer in Gorton and Denton changes everything. For years, British politics has oscillated between snuffing out hope and stoking fear. The main parties converged around an economic model that irretrievably broke in the crash of 2008, then encouraged understandably furious voters to blame f

PoliticsEconomyEnvironment
The Guardian Politics27 Feb 2026

Green win shows progressive voters are now voting against Labour as well as Reform

Gorton and Denton byelection shatters Labour strategy of neglecting its core base while focusing on Reform defectors UK politics live – latest updates The Gorton and Denton byelection produced Labour’s most feared outcome – the Greens winning and potential displacing Labour as the choice of anti-Reform voters. This risk was signposted for months. It is just the latest of the unintended consequences produced by this government: first, a manifesto commitment to not raise taxes that has led to co

PoliticsEconomyEnvironment
The Guardian Politics26 Feb 2026

Subsidies for Rolls-Royce might seem a bit rich, but they are inevitable

Every country supports its aerospace business, while keeping the production at home is vital. At least with Rolls, the UK is backing a winner Rolls-Royce, the engine-maker and defence firm that is spitting out so much cash it can shove £7bn to £9bn towards buying back shares over the next three years, would like UK taxpayers to find a few quid – reportedly up to £200m as a first slug – to help fund one its big bets. The company would “appreciate” financial support from the government to smooth w

EconomyDefence