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Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
UK's Reeves to make $2.7 trillion bet on 'Britain's renewal'
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves meets with defence suppliers at RAF Northolt on March 6, 2025 in Ruislip, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will divide up more than 2 trillion pounds ($2.7 trillion) of public spending on Wednesday in a speech she hopes will foster a sense of national renewal and make clear the year-old Labour government's political priorities. In an address to parliament due after 1130 GMT, Reeves will set out day-to-day budgets for government departments from 2026 to 2029 and investment plans out to 2030. Reeves set the overall total for spending in an October budget, financing her plan with the biggest tax rise in a generation and looser fiscal rules that make it easier for her to borrow to cover long-term investment. The choices she announces on Wednesday must start paying off quickly if Labour is to achieve its goals of boosting Britain's growth rate and improving the quality of overstretched public services. "This government is renewing Britain. But I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it," Reeves is expected to tell parliament, according to speech extracts released by the finance ministry. Reeves said the government would "invest in our country's security, health and economy so working people all over our country are better off." Among the projects announced on Wednesday was likely to be a 39 billion-pound 10-year programme to build lower-cost housing - almost doubling the annual amount spent on this compared with existing support, the finance ministry said. Since its sweeping election victory last July, Labour has seen its popularity slide. The right-wing Reform Party led by former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage is now ahead of it in the polls and outperformed it in English local elections last month. While Britain's economy recorded the fastest growth of the Group of Seven advanced economies in the first quarter of this year, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that in coming years it will lag behind the United States and Canada and barely outperform the euro zone. Official data on Tuesday showed the jobless rate had hit its highest in nearly four years - which the opposition Conservatives blamed on Reeves' October decision to place the main burden of tax rises on employers and boost workers' rights. SPENDING BATTLE Discussions between Reeves and government ministers have continued into this week over how big a slice their departments will receive of a pie whose size was set last year. Plans announced so far include 86 billion pounds on research and development, 16 billion pounds on public transport, 4 billion pounds on a new nuclear power station, 6 billion pounds on nuclear submarines and 4 billion on prisons. The final spending increases are unlikely to be shared out equally. Capital-intensive plans to raise defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product, announced by Starmer in February, mean other departments will see no real-terms increase in the pace of investment after this year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank estimates. Day-to-day spending on public services is due to rise by an average of 1.2% a year on top of inflation between 2026-27 and 2028-29, while capital budgets will increase by an average of 1.3% in real terms through to 2029-30, according to the IFS. Both rates of growth are much slower than in the current financial year, when investment spending is set to jump by 11.6% and current spending rises by 2.5%. For day-to-day spending, increasing the health budget by 2 percentage points more than the average - as was typical when Labour was last in power before 2010 - would mean real-terms cuts of 1% a year for other departments, the IFS said. Chris Jeffery, head of macro strategy at Legal & General, Britain's largest asset manager, said the fact that the overall spending total was known limited the impact for investors. Instead, financial markets would be most focused on whether any proposed cuts looked realistic for the departments affected. "If they're imposing really large real-terms cuts in spending, then I think the market will come to the conclusion that these are less likely to be delivered than if they are less aggressive," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Sky News
01-04-2025
- Health
- Sky News
King honours Alan Titchmarsh and Olympic star in first public engagement since short hospital stay
The King has made his first public engagement since a brief stay in hospital last week, honouring TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh and British athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, during an investiture at Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace said that following "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" on Thursday morning, His Majesty "experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital". Palace sources have described it as a "most minor bump in the road". The King then cancelled an away-day to Birmingham on Friday - when he was also seen smiling and waving as he left Clarence House in central London. Following Tuesday's investiture, the 76-year-old is due to carry out a mix of public engagements, state duties and private meetings in the coming days. However, a small number of appointments have been rescheduled ahead of a state visit the King and Queen are making to Italy next week. Titchmarsh, 75, was made a CBE for services to horticulture and charity, while Johnson-Thompson, the reigning world heptathlon champion and Paris 2024 Olympics silver medallist, was made an MBE for services to athletics. The King will hold his weekly audience with the prime minister at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, while on Thursday he will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the humanitarian air operator, Mission Aviation Fellowship, during an event at RAF Northolt in west London. Friday will be spent making final preparations for the trip to Italy.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
King to host his first official event since cancer treatment side effects
The King will attend his first public engagement since his short hospital stay following cancer treatment side effects when he hosts an investiture ceremony. Charles will preside over the event at Windsor Castle where he will recognise leading figures and community stalwarts for their efforts. The King will make TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh a CBE for services to horticulture and charity, and reigning world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be made an MBE for services to athletics. Charles was pictured smiling and waving as he left his Clarence House home in central London on Friday where he spent the night with the Queen following the 'minor bump' in his cancer journey. The King cancelled a busy away-day in Birmingham on Friday to prioritise his recovery, after experiencing temporary side effects following treatment at the London Clinic on Thursday morning, which required a short period of hospital observation that day. Over the coming days, Charles will be carrying out a mix of public engagements, state duties and private meetings. A small number of appointments have been rescheduled to ensure an appropriate balance ahead of a busy state visit the King and Queen will make to Italy next week. On Wednesday, the King will fulfil official duties and meetings at Buckingham Palace and hold his weekly audience with the Prime Minister, and the following day will attend a public engagement in Windsor and celebrate the 80th anniversary of the humanitarian air operator Mission Aviation Fellowship during an event at RAF Northolt in west London. Friday will be spent making final preparations for the state visit to the Republic of Italy but the separate state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Vatican – the world's smallest independent state – has been postponed as the Pope is recovering from a bout of pneumonia.
