Author: Blake Anderson

A rumour went around my three 20-something children that we were selling the family home, a property we have owned for nearly a quarter of a century. We’re not, it’s just that being almost empty nesters and working more flexibly, we’re talking through options. But I was surprised at the show of emotion from my children, despite two of them having moved out. Maybe it’s because my peripatetic, expat parents had set up 16 homes by the time I was 25 that I didn’t see this coming, whereas my husband, whose family lived in the same house for 40 years…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.One of the two men found guilty of murdering Black teenager Stephen Lawrence has admitted being involved in the attack, 32 years after the UK’s most notorious racist killing. David Norris, who received a life sentence in 2012, “has accepted he was present at the scene and punched the victim but claims that he did not wield the knife”, according to reports cited by the Parole Board, which assesses whether prisoners in England and Wales are safe to be released. Norris “does not accept…

This article is an on-site version of our The State of Britain newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every week. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood afternoon and welcome back to the State of Britain. I’m Martin Arnold, the FT’s financial regulation editor, and today I’m going to write about the government’s review of financial services regulation.It has taken almost 20 years, but the virtues of slashing the regulatory burden on the City of London to bolster wider economic growth and prosperity are back in vogue.This week, the…

This article is an on-site version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. If you’re not a subscriber, you can still receive the newsletter free for 30 daysGood morning. Next week’s Spring Statement will be a major event for the country and government. Before then, below are some thoughts about Labour’s approach to fiscal events thus far. Inside Politics is edited by Harvey Nriapia today. Follow Stephen on Bluesky and X. Read the previous edition of the newsletter here. Please send gossip, thoughts and feedback to insidepolitics@ft.comThe Rite of SpringWhat…

European countries are considering how to take on greater responsibilities for the continent’s defence, the UK and the US are negotiating a trade deal to avoid tariffs, and has the Federal Reserve stopped leading the way on global monetary policy? Mentioned in this podcast:European military powers work on 5-10 year plan to replace US in NatoUK races to avoid worst of Trump tariffs with talks on tech taxWhat’s at stake in the US-UK trade talks?Newsletter: Chris Giles on Central BanksThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Ethan Plotkin, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK government borrowing sharply overshot expectations in February, according to official figures, underscoring the pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares for her Spring Statement next week. The shortfall between government income and spending was £10.7bn last month, the Office for National Statistics said. This compared with a forecast of £6.5bn from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s fiscal watchdog, and a similar projection in a Reuters survey of economists. Reeves is preparing for a Spring Statement that will introduce a further…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s official statistics agency on Friday paused the publication of two price indices used to help calculate GDP figures, the latest admission of flawed data at the beleaguered authority.The Office for National Statistics said it had found flaws in its producer price indices and services producer price indices, which provide an indication of price pressures within business supply chains.“During work to improve the systems used to create the producer price index (PPI) and the services producer price indices (SPPI), our quality…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Media myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK Competition and Markets Authority has fined a group of sports broadcasters, including ITV and the BBC, more than £4mn for colluding over pay for freelance workers.Sky, BT, IMG, ITV and the BBC shared information about fees they paid for roles such as camera operators and sound technicians, the CMA said in a statement on Friday, noting “15 instances where a pair of companies unlawfully shared sensitive information about pay with each other”.All of the broadcasters except Sky have paid fines totalling…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Sir Keir Starmer should not cave in to Donald Trump’s “bullying” by lowering the UK’s Digital Services Tax, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has warned, arguing the US president is “an unreliable ally”.Sir Ed Davey said the prime minister was making a mistake with his friendly approach to Trump in the hope of sparing Britain from punitive trade measures, arguing that “Trump will put tariffs on us regardless”. “He’s not sentimental . . . he can change his mind at a moment’s notice,” Davey said…

How could a £1 pay rise end up costing you nearly £50,000? The answer is the childcare cliff edge in the UK tax system, which will get considerably steeper for higher-earning families from September. The government’s expansion of free childcare provision in England this autumn means that working families with children aged under three will be able to claim 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week on top of the tax-free childcare scheme. Valuable benefits, but the bulk of this entitlement is lost if one parent’s adjusted net income is more than £100,000 per year. This threshold, introduced in 2017…