Author: Blake Anderson

Thirty-odd years ago, when I first entered the world of financial services, investment platforms were very much in their infancy. According to some definitions, they didn’t even exist. Today millions of individuals in the UK invest online. Some do so through platforms that allow them to work alongside their financial advisers, others through platforms that enable them to make their own decisions. Proving that success breeds competition, the marketplace is becoming ever more crowded. This ought to be good news for investors, who should benefit not only from sheer choice but from newcomers and incumbents constantly compelling each other to up their…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThe writer is an FT contributing editorGoodbye fluffy liberal internationalism. Hello hard-headed pursuit of the national interest. Western democratic norms and values are all very well. But homeland security in a dangerous world requires military strength and shameless deals with unsavoury regimes. Welcome to a new age of realpolitik.Keir Starmer’s government does not put it quite like this in its 2025 National Security Strategy. But its warning that Britain must step beyond its “comfort zone” to defend itself consigns to…

UK health secretary Wes Streeting has said the use of robotics will be at the heart of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS and the drive to improve productivity.Robot-assisted surgeries will become standard for certain procedures, such as ear, nose and throat operations, and hospitals that fail to use this technology will be paid less, he told the Financial Times a week before his blueprint for reviving the NHS is published. “The thing that gives me the most excitement about what the NHS could be is the revolution in medical technology,” including the expansion of “pioneering robotics”, Streeting said. “We want…

Nigel Farage is wooing City figures by promising to appoint a string of business leaders to ministerial roles, including in the Treasury, if Reform UK wins the next general election.The rightwing populist party’s leader has told executives, who have privately expressed concern about how Reform will fund some of its policies, that he will be enlisting “top business leaders” to some of the biggest jobs in his government.One senior Reform figure confirmed that Farage would want fresh business expertise in the Treasury and would also consider cabinet-level roles for external figures: “There are many high-quality people who want to help…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to make several concessions to his controversial welfare reforms in an attempt to head off a major rebellion by Labour MPs. But the longer term issue of how the state can afford Britain’s ballooning welfare bill remains, with the number of disability benefits claimants set to rise significantly over the next 10 years.How big is the problem? Without reform, spending on working-age health and disability benefits is expected to hit £66bn by 2029-30, according…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Lotus plans to end production in the UK after more than 70 years, putting 1,300 jobs at risk in the latest blow to the country’s car industry.The British sports carmaker, controlled by Chinese carmaker Geely, has struggled to pay its suppliers in recent weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, bringing production to a temporary halt at its Hethel plant in Norfolk for about a month. The company is planning to stop production for good at the plant — its…

Sir Keir Starmer faced a huge rebellion from within his own party this week after scores of MPs opposed changes to make it tougher to collect some disability benefits. This episode — recorded just before the prime minister’s concessions on welfare reform — unpacks why the rebellion took place, what it says about Starmer’s leadership and where next for Labour. Host Miranda Green is joined by Stephen Bush and Jim Pickard — check out their recent articles below for fresh analysis on the government climbdown. Plus, FT chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman on Starmer’s performance at the Nato summit…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is professor of politics at Queen Mary University of LondonSince Labour first entered government in 1924, a total of 13 of the party’s MPs have served as government chief whip. Few had an easy time of it. The relationship between Labour’s front and backbench has been a perpetual problem for the party — with welfare reform a regular bone of contention, then as now. This week’s government climbdown over cuts to disability benefits is yet more evidence that parliament is…

Sir Keir Starmer has blown a £4.25bn hole in his budget after retreating on cuts to disability benefits and pensioner subsidies, raising the likelihood of further tax rises and damaging his government’s credibility with investors.The UK prime minister on Thursday gave rebellious Labour MPs about £3bn worth of concessions on planned cuts to welfare spending, just weeks after he reversed on cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners at a cost of £1.25bn.Starmer, who swept to office last July in a landslide election victory, has made his huge parliamentary majority a core part of his pitch to investors, arguing that the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Sir Keir Starmer has apologised for his comment that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” due to excessive immigration, saying he “deeply” regretted using language that echoed controversial Conservative minister Enoch Powell. The prime minister said it “wasn’t right” to have used the phrase in last month’s speech, in which he promised his Labour government would crack down on immigration figures. He said that neither he nor his speechwriters had been aware that the phrase bore similarity to a line from Powell in his…