In the United Kingdom, the Labour government prioritizes defense and healthcare
After a difficult first year at Downing Street, on Wednesday, June 11, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves seized the opportunity of the spending review, which is the allocation of the budget by major spending categories through 2029 , to try to revive their plummeting popularity. The day before, Reeves had laid the groundwork, confirming that she would reverse the very first decision she had made upon taking office in July 2024: eliminating an energy allowance for pensioners. That cut, which has affected 11 million Britons, contributed to Labour's disastrous results in the local elections on May 1, and revealed that the far-right Reform UK party is now the preferred choice among working-class voters.
On Wednesday, the Chancellor announced more than £110 billion in investments to fund a new nuclear power plant (Sizewell C, in Suffolk) and to upgrade numerous rail links in central and northern England that had been neglected by previous Conservative governments. The NHS, Britain's iconic public healthcare system, will receive an additional injection of nearly £30 billion per year for its operations. Defense, the third major priority for Starmer's cabinet, will also see its budget rise as planned to 2.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by April 2027 (an additional £11 billion per year).
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France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
More arrests after third night of unrest in N. Ireland town
The three days of clashes in Ballymena erupted on Monday night after two teenagers were arrested for an alleged attempted rape of a young girl at the weekend. Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody and had asked for a Romanian interpreter in court. The crowds eventually dispersed late Wednesday without a repeat of the chaotic scenes seen on Monday and Tuesday when houses and businesses were torched and 32 police officers were injured. But in Larne, around 20 miles (32 kilometres) away, local media reported that masked men on Wednesday torched a leisure centre that was temporarily sheltering people from Ballymena who had been evacuated from their homes. Police condemned Wednesday night's violence, which included a hatchet being thrown at officers, calling it "completely unacceptable disorder". Six more people were arrested, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. "As a result of a significant policing operation calm was restored to all areas at around 1:00 am (0000 GMT) this morning," the force added. Three teenage boys aged 15, 17 and 18 were due to appear in court on Thursday having been charged with rioting, according to police. A total of 41 officers have now been hurt in the three nights of unrest, the PSNI said, though most of the injuries were not severe. Ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive strongly condemned "the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days", while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the "mindless violence". The UK's Northern Ireland minister Hilary Benn, who visited Ballymena on Thursday, said he "utterly condemned the terrible scenes of civil disorder". 'Terrifying' Police called the violence "racist thuggery", deployed riot officers with dogs and asked forces in England and Wales for help quelling the unrest. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said Thursday that "this criminal behaviour has no place on the streets of Northern Ireland and is completely unacceptable". On the fire in Larne, police said: "Shockingly, people were inside the building at the time of this fire -– thankfully no injuries were reported." Ballymena residents have described "terrifying" scenes in which attackers had targeted "foreigners" over the previous days. Some people fixed signs to their houses indicating they were Filipino residents, or hung up British flags. Political commentator Alex Kane, a former Ulster Unionist Party communications chief, told AFP "most of those involved in the rioting... were from the working-class loyalist community" who support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK. "This is a demographic which feels left behind" by various political and social forces, he added. "An unsettled community, particularly when it is mostly composed of the young, is often quick to anger and easy to mobilise on the street. It's a problem which won't disappear any time soon," he warned. While acknowledging the protests were a "bit extreme", college student Lee Stewart described them as necessary "to defend our own people". "We view it as the police aren't doing anything to stop what is going on to those poor wee girls," Stewart, 18, said.
France 24
21 hours ago
- France 24
UK economy shrinks in April as US tariffs kick in
Gross domestic product contracted 0.3 percent in the month, compared to 0.2 percent growth in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement. Analysts' consensus had been for a GDP contraction of 0.1 percent in April. Exports of British goods to the United States fell by a record £2 billion ($2.7 billion) the same month, the ONS revealed, following the introduction of Trump's tariffs onslaught. The data comes one day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government laid out its priorities for the coming years, hoping that changes to day-to-day spending amounts and longer-term investment will spur Britain's sluggish economy. 'Clearly disappointing' Finance minister Rachel Reeves injected the ailing National Health Service with billions of pounds and pumped funds into defence and housing, while making cuts to other departments. Reeves said Thursday's figures were "clearly disappointing" but insisted that her spending plans would deliver growth for Britain. Paul Dales, chief UK economist at research group Capital Economics, noted that the economy faced "subdued overseas demand and domestic businesses cutting back on spending to compensate for the rise in costs driven by April's increase in taxes". Following Labour's return to power last July, following years of Conservative rule, Reeves announced a tax rise for UK businesses which entered force in April. Official data this week showed that the hike had contributed to a small rise in Britain's unemployment rate and slowdown to growth in average wages. Record drop Britain's economy had expanded by 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year. "With the economy now weakening, we can expect to see concerns around further tax rises increase as we near the Autumn Budget -- which is likely to weigh on growth even more," said Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter. The latest data follows also the introduction of a baseline 10-percent tariff imposed on the UK and other countries by Trump at the start of April. The UK and US have since struck a trade agreement that cuts tariffs on British cars and scraps them on steel and aluminium. Britain in return has agreed to open up its markets to US beef and other American farm goods. But the UK remains subject to a 10-percent tariff on most goods exported to the United States. Decreases in exports to the United States in April were seen "across most types of goods, following the recent introduction of tariffs", said ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown. Machinery and transport equipment, including cars, took a notable hit, after four months of consecutive increases for exports of British goods to the US. Official data earlier this year showed trade in goods between the UK and US remained balanced in 2024. Britain imported £57.1 billion ($77 billion) worth of American goods last year and exported products worth a total of £59.3 billion.
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
Tense standoff as a town in Northern Ireland braces for a third night of riots
Police were bracing late on Wednesday, June 12, for a third night of violence in a riot-hit town in Northern Ireland as hundreds gathered on the streets armed with molotov cocktails while unrest spread to other areas. Despite calls for calm from across the divided UK province, as dusk fell hundreds of protestors milled in the centre of northern Ballymena in a tense standoff with police armed with riot shields and backed by water cannons. Two nights of intense violence, which has left 32 police officers injured and a trail of burned-out houses and businesses, has been loudly condemned by police as "racist thuggery." Police Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said he had appealed to police forces in England and Wales to deploy to aid his forces to quell the unrest. Riot police with dogs pushed back protestors who sporadically threw fireworks, masonry and bottles, and two petrol bombs were thrown at a line of armored police landrovers. A leisure center in the town of Larne, some 20 miles Southeast of Ballymena, was set on fire by masked men, local media reported. Some of those who had to be evacuated from Ballymena had been given temporary shelter in the center.. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier Wednesday condemned the violence as "mindless." The riots erupted after the arrest of two teenagers accused of attempting to rape a young girl. The pair appeared in court on Monday where they asked for a Romanian interpreter. "We strongly condemn the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days and make an urgent appeal for calm across society," ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive said Wednesday in a joint statement. Residents had been "terrorised" and police injured, they added, urging people to reject the "divisive agenda being pushed by a "destructive" minority. "There can never be any justification for the violence that has taken place in recent days," said the leaders/ Six people were arrested Tuesday during the second night of riots in Ballymena, around 30 miles Northwest of Belfast, and surrounding places. Police will not confirm the ethnicity of the two teenagers who remain in custody, but areas attacked on Monday and Tuesday included those where Romanian migrants live. Traditional foes such as the republican Sinn Fein and pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party lent their voices to the joint statement calling for calm.
