Kate Andrews is deputy editor of The Spectator’s World edition.
It was only a few weeks ago that Liz Truss started commenting on domestic policy again, speaking to The Spectator not just about what happened during her time in No. 10, but about what she sees as prescriptions for Britain’s stagnant economy. Today she weighs back in on foreign policy. In Tokyo this morning, the
I used to think that the early hours of the morning were for sleeping. Sometimes they might become an extension, or at worst a hangover, from a sloppy, messy night before; a party that keeps going, a person you can’t get enough of – these are the reasons to be up at dawn. Now I
Inflation remains at near a 40-year high – but finally, we’re starting to see some signs of good news. This morning’s update from the Office for National Statistics shows CPI falling to 10.1 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 10.5 per cent in December 2022. It’s a better update compared
The latest labour market update – published by the Office for National Statistics this morning – looks a lot like last month’s update: that’s to say, a mixed bag of news. Unemployment rose again, up 0.1 per cent between October to December, to 3.7 per cent. But this quarterly rise was once again off-set by a
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This week has seen the return of Liz Truss, firstly with her op-ed in the Telegraph and then her Spectator TV exclusive interview. Has enough time passed to revise our opinion of her pro-growth agenda? Or will her legacy forever be one of failure? Cindy Yu speaks to Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews.
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New GDP figures show that the UK economy narrowly avoided recession at the end of 2022. Between the final quarter and the third quarter of last year, there was no change in the economy’s output. Is this really good news? And do GDP figures matter if people still feel poorer? Max Jeffery speaks to Kate
Britain has avoided recession – for now. This morning’s update from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that there was no overall GDP growth between October and December last year. The UK has swerved the technical definition of recession – two consecutive quarters of negative growth – in the least glamorous way possible. It
Treasury select committee meetings are not usually the stuff of great television. But this morning, it was. The Bank of England’s governor Andrew Bailey was up as a witness to give evidence on recent Monetary Policy reports. And the committee’s new chair, Harriett Baldwin, came ready to highlight where (many) mistakes had been made. Starting
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
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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
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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.
