Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldDonald Trump has specialised in heaping scorn on America’s traditional allies since arriving in the White House, but on Thursday he adopted a strikingly new approach: lavishing praise on a “fantastic” Britain and his “special” guest, Sir Keir Starmer.The UK prime minister was a “special man”, King Charles was “a beautiful man” and Starmer’s wife Vic was “a beautiful, great woman”.Trump even described Starmer’s accent as “beautiful”.The show of appreciation, conducted over several hours of negotiations in the White House,…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK employment myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Ministers are developing artificial intelligence tools to write CVs and covering letters for jobseekers, as they seek to free up Jobcentre staff to work on more complex cases and reduce the UK’s welfare bill.Officials hope to set out their plans within a year and are working to establish if the tools can be built in-house or would need to be contracted from the private sector, according to people briefed on the plans. “Work coaches’ time is so limited and they could be doing…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain and India will relaunch talks on a long-awaited trade deal, kick-starting negotiations that timed out due to elections in both countries last year.UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Monday for two days of discussions.British investment minister Poppy Gustafsson is expected to address investors in the business centres of Mumbai and Bengaluru to pitch the UK as the “best and most connected place” for Indian capital.Advanced manufacturing, clean energy, financial services, and…

The amount of UK investors’ money stuck in poorly performing funds has jumped by more than a quarter over the past six months, according to new research by wealth manager Bestinvest.The level of wealth held in so-called “dog” funds has risen to £67.4bn, up from £53.4bn six months ago, its latest “Spot the Dog” report shows. The wealth manager described the large increase as “concerning” and pointed to a jump in the number of funds that manage more than £1bn in the ranks of the worst performers.Among them is Lindsell Train UK Equity, run by veteran investor Nick Train, which…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Heathrow is preparing to unveil plans to squeeze 100mn passengers a year through its cramped west London airfield, raising capacity by nearly a fifth before it pushes ahead with plans for a controversial third runway. The airport’s chief executive Thomas Woldbye will on Wednesday set out proposals for a “phased expansion programme”, which will start with improvements to its current site but ultimately “lay the groundwork for a third runway”. Airport bosses believe they can fit another 15mn people per year through…

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…