Author: Blake Anderson

Hopes are growing in London and Brussels that a crucial summit in May will open the door to a UK-EU defence pact and wider economic deal, and that it will not be derailed by a simmering dispute over fishing quotas.“I think we are in a very good place,” said one EU official, referring to the Brussels summit that will formally kick off negotiations on a post-Brexit reset of relations. “Things are progressing very well.”UK ministers are also optimistic the May 19 event will clear the way for closer economic ties, building on the trust developed by a new security and…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK employment myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The writer chairs the commission for healthier working lives at the Health Foundation think-tankThe current debate on welfare and work risks overlooking a crucial fact: every year over 300,000 people in the UK leave their job and report a work-limiting health condition. Many do not return. But evidence shows that much of this could be prevented with the right support. Without it, more will fall permanently out of work, creating lasting costs for individuals, employers and public services.This month, the government announced…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Ministers have quietly cut England’s road-building and repair budget for the coming year, with a £4.8bn funding pot for major highways being around 5 per cent lower than the current allocation. Sir Keir Starmer declared that the sum announced last week for National Highways would “deliver vital road schemes and maintain major roads across the country to get Britain moving”. But the figure for the year 2025-26 is lower than the £5.07bn the agency receives in the current financial year, according to details published…

Earlier this month, more than 100 Pizza Hut delivery drivers for Scotland’s biggest takeaway franchisee were called to an emergency meeting and offered an unwelcome choice. Managers of the Glenshire Group, which runs delivery outlets across Scotland, told workers they had a choice: take an effective pay cut, move to an in-store role or switch into self-employment. The changes, bosses said, were needed to cope with increases to national insurance contributions (NICs) and minimum wage rates that take effect this week — sharply raising labour costs for employers of low-wage workers.Bryan Simpson, lead organiser for hospitality at the union Unite, who…

The man claiming he will be the next prime minister of Great Britain stood up to address a vast half-empty arena in Birmingham on Friday evening.Nigel Farage was in ebullient mood as he launched Reform’s local election campaign ahead of polling day on May 1, when the party is hoping to pick up hundreds of seats across Durham, Doncaster, Lancashire, Kent and Lincolnshire.“This is the most ambitious launch of any election campaign in history,” he beamed as he entered on a JCB crane loaned to him by the billionaire Conservative megadonor Anthony Bamford. “I came back out of retirement to…

There were no tax rises announced at the Spring Statement this week, as the chancellor had signalled. However, the worsening state of the UK economy and public finances mean many experts are convinced that tax rises will be back on the table at the autumn Budget. “We might be in for another blockbuster autumn Budget,” says Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the influential think-tank.Nimesh Shah, chief executive of tax experts Blick Rothenberg, says he fully expects the chancellor to do something significant in the autumn. “The [country’s] growth projections do not look good at all. The government…

1. Fowlescombe Farm, Ugborough, Devon A potting shed at Fowlescombe Farm Ten suites have been created in the former farm buildings Guests stay amid 500 acres of countryside This freshly reimagined Devon farm starts welcoming its first guests next month. Ten smart suites have been created in former farm buildings at the heart of the 500 acres: some rooms wrapped in warm oak panelling, others with soaring double-height living rooms, all have mattresses handmade by Devon company Naturalmat using wool from Fowlescombe’s own sheep. As beautiful as the design is, it’s food that is central to the vision. “We want to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Am I the most resented person in Britain? I thought I’d ticked all the boxes that society loves to rib you for: I trained in real estate, worked for an investment bank, then in private equity, then as a talk-show host (a gob on a stick), and even appeared on a reality TV show. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea; teasing is one thing, but I’ve never been taxed extra for it — until now, as a second-home owner.From April…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is an author of fiction, cookery books and poetry anthologies. Her latest book is ‘The Dinner Table’, a collection of food writingStrange things happen when queens die. A solar eclipse, perhaps; or a comet bringing portents of changing times. When, two and a half years ago, Elizabeth II shuffled off this mortal coil, more than a thousand small bears — each in smart blue duffel coat and battered red hat — were left at the gates of Buckingham Palace. Odd…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ theme was “security”. But as the dust settled on her Spring Statement, with its almost £5bn of welfare cuts, the mood among Labour MPs and in the country was one of mounting uncertainty about what lies ahead.“There has been a lot of fear out there,” said Dame Meg Hillier, Labour chair of the Commons public accounts committee, as MPs digested Reeves’ package of cuts and the government’s own estimate that it would force 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty.“Balancing the books on the backs of the poor,” was the front page verdict of both the…