Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Sir Keir Starmer has sacked Andrew Gwynne, a health minister, after offensive comments shared on a WhatsApp group came to light. The prime minister sacked Gwynne, an ally of former leftwing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, on Saturday night as soon as he became aware of the comments, a spokesperson for Starmer said.Gwynne, junior minister for public health and MP for Gorton and Denton, said he deeply regretted his “badly misjudged comments”, which were revealed by the Mail on Sunday, and apologised for…

Eric, a surveyor with a masters degree and 15 years’ experience managing big government contracts, did everything he could to improve his job prospects before moving from Hong Kong to the UK in May 2023.He secured UK professional accreditation, settled in Manchester because of its building boom and began sending out his CV as soon as he had a permanent address. But after six months scouring job boards, Eric — whose name has been changed to protect his identity — had only managed to find a two-month stint sorting Christmas mail.He finally landed an administrative job in the public sector,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will promise to go “further and faster” to kick-start the UK economy in a major speech on Wednesday, as she tries to convince financial markets and business leaders that the government is committed to driving growth.Reeves will signal she is prepared to have a “fight” with opponents — including environmentalists — who stand in the way of the government’s planning reforms. The chancellor is under pressure to reassure businesses and investors after a tax-raising Budget in October, a major package…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Ministers are preparing to give the go-ahead to a major expansion of Gatwick, the UK’s second-largest airport, as part of a broader push to nurture economic growth.The government is also keen to approve an expansion of Luton airport if concerns about noise pollution from passenger jets flying over rural areas can be addressed.And chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to reaffirm her support for Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport, to build a contentious third runway in a speech about economic growth later this…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch will accuse chancellor Rachel Reeves on Thursday of rolling out “mad and bad ideas”, while deriding some of the Labour government’s plan on schools as “vandalism” and “worse than garbage”.Badenoch will claim that her party, while in government, stood firm against repeated attempts by Whitehall officials to push proposals to cancel the universal winter fuel payment and close inheritance tax loopholes on farms.Reeves has pursued both policies “because she has no ideas of her own”, the Tory leader…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will this week step up pressure on Britain’s regulators to rip up anti-growth rules, in the face of renewed criticism from business that the government is making things worse. CBI chair Rupert Soames on Monday said business was “bruised” by government policies and new employment regulations would hamper growth and cause job losses. Labour’s election manifesto contained promises to regulate a range of areas from the workplace to football. The government’s own impact assessment on its workers’ rights package…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The number of businesses planning to raise prices in the coming months has jumped sharply as increases in the UK Budget in tax and wage costs caused confidence to “slump”, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned. About 55 per cent of companies said they were planning to increase prices in the coming three months, up from 39 per cent in the third quarter, the lobby group’s survey of almost 5,000 businesses found. The expected price rises will fuel concerns that Budget measures will…

Former England football manager Gareth Southgate, the actor Stephen Fry and London’s mayor Sadiq Khan have all been knighted in the UK’s New Year honours list. Recipients of the 1,200-plus awards also include the author Jacqueline Wilson, actor Carey Mulligan and former Post Office sub-postmasters who campaigned for justice following the Horizon IT scandal.Southgate managed the England men’s team for eight years and led it to the finals of the Euro 2024 competition in July, where it lost 2-1 to Spain. He resigned shortly afterwards. The former Premiership and England player has been knighted for services to association football, having also…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.When Paul McCartney was joined on stage in London by Ringo Starr for the final concert in his Got Back tour last week, they slipped easily into songs, including “Helter Skelter” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. They have had time to practice: it’s 64 years since they first started playing as The Beatles with John Lennon and George Harrison. McCartney is 82, more than four times the age of the 18-year-old then. Yet The Beatles’ remaining members play on, long after…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Sir Keir Starmer should agree to a “comprehensive” pact enabling young people to study and work in the UK and EU as part of next year’s “reset” talks aimed at easing trade barriers, a leading UK business lobby group said.The call by the British Chambers of Commerce puts it at odds with the Labour government, which has repeatedly ruled out signing such a deal, despite EU negotiators making clear that it would be an essential part of any agreement to improve trade…