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It comes amid an ongoing battle with inflation and uncertainty partly caused by the threat of tariffs by Donald Trump
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UK interest rates have been held at 4.5 per cent by the Bank of England (BoE) with another cut to borrowing costs unlikely, amid mounting global uncertainty.
While the interest rate is still expected to fall further over the remainder of the year, only two further cuts are now expected across 2025 amid an ongoing battle with inflation, rising costs for businesses and an uncertain wider economic outlook, partly due to Trump’s threat of tariffs.
It comes as reports suggest Rachel Reeves is set to announce the biggest spending cuts since austerity in her spring statement next week.
Certain departments could face reductions of up to seven per cent over the next four years as the chancellor looks to slash Whitehall budgets by billions of pounds more than previously thought, the Guardian reported.
Having reportedly ruled out tax rises, Ms Reeves is set to tell MPs her plans next Wednesday, with experts warning fresh cuts would hit vital public services, a week after her party slashed the welfare bill by around £5 billion.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch has warned that the upcoming local elections will be “extremely difficult” as she set a pessimistic tone during her party’s campaign launch.
The Conservative leader warned that they would lost “every single” council it won in 2021 if the general election results were mapped onto the coming local poll.
Half of Reform UK voters have little or no confidence in Covid-19 vaccines, compared with the general public who overwhelmingly trust the jabs, a YouGov poll has found.
Those who back Nigel Farage’s party have a “distinct” attitude towards the vaccines, with 50 per cent saying they do not trust them.
That compares to 71 per cent of the public who said they trust the Covid jab a great deal or a fair amount, and just 24 per cent of voters who said they do not trust it much or at all. Reform voters are also significantly more likely to not have been vaccinated against Covid during the pandemic, the poll found.
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The UK must increase the size of the army if it is serious about building the so-called coalition of the willing, the Liberal Democrats have said.
As Sir Keir Starmer is set to meet senior military leaders to discuss the operational phase of a Ukraine peacekeeping force, Helen Maguire, Lib Dem defence spokeswoman, said: “If Starmer is serious about building a coalition of the willing for Ukraine, he needs to give the British military more of the troops it needs to credibly support a reassurance force.
“As military chiefs meet in London today, the Lib Dems are urging the Prime Minister to now commit to reversing the Conservatives’ staggeringly irresponsible 10,000 troop cuts to the Army. That they allowed these reckless cuts to take place while there was a war raging on our continent is shameful.
“Reversing these cuts will send a clear message to both our allies and the dictator, Putin: that the UK is ready to step up and help guarantee a just peace for Ukraine, if one can be agreed.”
The dour Scotsman holding the title of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister, Pat McFadden, doesn’t seem much of a space cowboy but he has in common with Elon Musk an apparent zeal to eliminate waste.
Being more sensible and considerably less excitable than his (rough) US counterpart, McFadden has not yet egregiously breached the British constitution but he has summarily abolished almost all of the civil service “credit cards”, a distinctly Doge-like action. It’s more than just a symbolic move…
What’s the problem?
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David Lammy has confirmed that a British national was wounded in an Israeli attack on a UN compound in Gaza on Wednesday, as he said recent attacks had been an “appalling loss of life”.
The Foreign Secretary told MPs: “Yesterday morning a UN compound in Gaza was hit, I can confirm to the House that a British national was amongst the wounded.
“Our priority is supporting them and their family at this time.”
Mr Lammy added that the attacks on Gaza on Tuesday night had caused the largest Palestinian death toll on a single day since the war began.
He said: “A number of Hamas figures were reportedly killed, but it’s been reported that over 400 Palestinians were killed in missile strikes and artillery barrages. The majority of them were women and children.
“This appears to have been the deadliest single day for Palestinians since the war began. This is an appalling loss of life, and we mourn the loss of every civilian.”
Labour’s plans to cut the welfare bill do not go nearly far enough, the former minister who brought in the biggest reform of benefits since their creation in the 1940s has warned.
In a week where Keir Starmer’s government announced plans to remove disability benefits from an estimated 1 million claimants, former Tory work and pensions secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith said more must be done to stop “a tsunami of so called fit notes signing people off work forever”.
Writing exclusively for The Independent, Sir Iain also raised problems with a culture where young people leave school “and go straight to their sick beds”.
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Responding to today’s interest rate decision by the Bank of England, Suren Thiru, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Economics Director, said: “The decision to keep interest rates on hold will be a palpable letdown to those households looking for relief from high mortgage bills and businesses preparing for April’s major jump in business costs, including the national insurance hike.
“While the vote to ‘hold’ was emphatic, there was enough in the meeting minutes to suggest that rate setters remain concerned over the health of the economy, keeping the door wide open for a May interest rate cut.
“With inflation set to rise further and international headwinds growing, the path to materially lower interest rates remains filled with uncertainty. As such, rate setters will probably continue to maintain their slow and steady approach to loosening policy.”
The Chancellor must use the coming spring statement to “take responsible steps” that will pave the way for an interest rates cut, the Tories said.
Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said: “Interest rates staying higher for longer will mean higher mortgages for millions of people across the country.
“Because of Rachel Reeves’ Budget, inflation is above the Bank of England’s target, making it harder to bring interest rates down.
“Next week, during her emergency budget, the Chancellor must take responsible steps on spending, borrowing and debt to allow the Bank of England to cut interest rates.”
In response to the Bank of England holding interest rates, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “We’ve had three rate cuts since the summer, but there’s still work to do to ease the cost of living.
“That’s why I’m fighting every day to put more money in the pockets of working people to deliver our plan for change, and why we protected workers’ payslips with no rise in national insurance, income tax or VAT, boosted the national living wage and froze fuel duty.
“In a changing world, I’m determined to go further and faster to kickstart growth, and bring in a new era of stability, security and renewal that protects working people and keeps our country safe.”
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