Kate Andrews is economics editor of The Spectator
Liz Truss is on manoeuvres. She is spending lots of time where she is most comfortable, inside Westminster’s thinktanks, preaching her version of free-market economics. There are rumours she might assemble a new thinktank of her own, or work with an existing one, to set up an alternative to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s growth
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Today Liz Truss has broken her silence, giving her first broadcast interview since leaving No.10 to SpectatorTV. Was she denied a ‘realistic chance’ at success? Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. You can watch the full interview now on SpectatorTV: https://www.youtube.com/@SpectatorTV
Patients in Devon are not supposed to call their local GPs to check on their appointments. Residents in Gloucestershire have been encouraged to avoid ringing 999 unless the situation is life-threatening. Once again, people are being asked to stay away from the health service – not because of a pandemic this time, but because today
‘I assumed upon entering Downing Street that my mandate would be respected and accepted. How wrong I was.’ This is the crux of Liz Truss’s defence of her 49 days in Downing Street: the shortest-ever stint for a Prime Minister. It is also the start of her attempt at a political comeback. Writing in today’s Sunday
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A new poll today shows that more than half of voters think that Rishi Sunak has handled the economy badly, and that a third of voters think Boris Johnson was a better prime minister. This comes as Sunak marks his first 100 days in office. But did the PM ever have a political honeymoon to
Markets expected another interest rate rise today of 50 basis points. That’s exactly what they got. This afternoon the Bank of England has announced its tenth rate rise in a row, from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to raise rates to 4 per cent; two members
12 min listen
The IMF report suggests Britain will be the only advanced economy to fall into recession this year – predicting the worst growth figures of any G7 country. Historically, how reliable have these forecasts been? Can we take some of it with a pinch of salt? Also on the podcast, MPs have approved new powers to
Rishi Sunak’s problems aren’t confined to his party. The NHS is in trouble and one of the Prime Minister’s five new year pledges was to get its record waiting list – 7.2 million in NHS England alone – down, ensuring patients get faster access to care. The problem with this promise is that the waiting
14 min listen
Jeremy Hunt unveiled his plans to grow the economy in a speech this morning. His strategy will focus on four pillars or ‘four E’s’: enterprise, education, employment and everywhere. Natasha Feroze speaks to Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson – who were at the Bloomberg headquarters, on their key takeaways from the speech.
As the UK – and indeed the world – faces the prospect of an economic downturn this year, what exactly can the government do about it? This remains an ongoing debate within the Tory party, as Rishi Sunak continues to emphasise the importance of stability, while Liz Truss’s most loyal supporters keep pressuring the government
Rishi Sunak ruffled his own party’s feathers last week when – in reference to last autumn’s market turmoil – he told an audience in Lancashire: ‘You’re not idiots, you know what’s happened.’ This was quickly interpreted as the Prime Minister branding the MPs and business leaders calling for immediate tax cuts as ‘idiots’, sparking not
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Kate Andrews talks to Fraser Nelson and the New Zealand based journalist and author Andrea Vance about the surprise announcement from Jacinda Ardern that she will be leaving the world stage next month.
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Rishi Sunak may be facing a fine from the police for not wearing a seatbelt in the backseat of a car on his tour around the country yesterday. Is this all a storm in a teacup or is there a legitimate point to the row? Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson debate on the podcast, hosted
Despite this week’s inflation update, broad consensus remains that the headline rate is going to fall – significantly – this year. One of those people is the governor of the Bank of England. Andrew Bailey has told Media Wales that ‘a corner has been turned’ on those price hikes, as it appears the consumer prices
When Rishi Sunak laid out his five pledges at the start of the year, his first and most prominent one was to halve inflation in 2023. A few weeks on: how’s that going? This morning’s inflation figures would suggest not so well. Inflation fell in the 12 months leading up to December 2022 to 10.5
Economic optimism is in short supply these days – but has pessimism about the UK’s economy been overegged by the likes of Sadiq Khan? The verdict of chief executives from around the world suggests as much: Britain has been ranked in the top three markets for investment, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’s (PwC’s) annual Global CEO Survey.
15 min listen
Westminster and Holyrood are going head to head on Scotland’s newly passed Gender Recognition Bill. Last night, the UK government blocked the legislation from Edinburgh, citing that the powers it gives – requiring those identifying as a different gender to only live in that gender for three months, and reducing the age of self-identification to
Unemployment in Britain has risen again and is now at 3.7 per cent, up 0.2 per cent on the quarter. It’s a very small change in the grand scheme of things but, perhaps counterintuitively, a change in the right direction. This morning’s labour market update from the Office for National Statistics shows that while the
What is the lasting impact of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget? According to Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, the big implications for monetary policy have come and gone. Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee this afternoon about the UK’s financial security, Bailey noted that the spike in both gilt yields
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It’s looking like a busy week in Westminster. So busy in fact that prime minister Rishi Sunak will not be attending the annual Davos meeting, organised by the World Economic Forum. His opposite number Kier Starmer will be making the trip however, is this a shrewd move from Labour? Also on the podcast, amended plans