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The State of Britain

The UK's economy, trade and investment

Peter Foster talks to politicians, policymakers and businesses about the UK’s search for growth, productivity and its place in a changing world. 

Sign up to the newsletter here

  • Thursday, 3 October, 2024
    Brexit
    Small but important steps in EU-UK relations Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: the apprenticeship levy and its failure to help the young into work

    Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen speak to the media at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels
  • Thursday, 26 September, 2024
    Politics
    ‘You do just wonder what on earth they were doing’ Premium content

    Business frustration at Labour’s lack of preparedness for government

    Rachel Reeves
  • Thursday, 19 September, 2024
    Politics
    Labour is in danger of losing the crowd Premium content

    The manifesto promised ‘change’ but there is a lack of strategy from the government

    Labour leader Keir Starmer at a rally
  • Thursday, 12 September, 2024
    Newsletter
    Science will test Britain’s global ambitions Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: Britain’s ‘unsustainable’ finances

  • Thursday, 5 September, 2024
    Brexit
    Renegotiating the UK’s Brexit deal will take more than warm words Premium content

    Plus, Starmer needs to ease up on the gloom

    Musicians protest in Westminster
  • Thursday, 29 August, 2024
    UK devolution
    Houchen’s Tees Valley project and the challenge for Labour Premium content

    Plus: public transport and the productivity gap

    Ben Houchen
  • Thursday, 22 August, 2024
    UK prisons
    Labour must have the courage of its convictions on prisons Premium content

    Also in this newsletter: Lack of university alternatives handicaps young Brits

    Wandsworth prison in London
  • Thursday, 15 August, 2024
    Labour party UK
    Labour must marshal a patchwork of actors to deliver its missions Premium content

    Plus: with A&E attendances at record highs and waiting lists still long, NHS struggles through a permanent winter

    Keir Starmer points, during a visit to the Window Supply Company in Bathgate, Scotland
  • Thursday, 8 August, 2024
    UK economy
    Why rapprochement with Europe is likely to be slow under Starmer Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: online mentions for ‘stop the boats’ surge

    Pro-EU protesters
  • Thursday, 1 August, 2024
    UK economy
    Labour must not eschew big investments in the name of ‘tough choices’ Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: civil service headcount balloons

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks during a press conference
  • Thursday, 25 July, 2024
    UK housebuilding
    Stockport’s housing saga mirrors wider challenge for Labour planning reform Premium content

    The town faces the same Nimbyism and conflicting attitudes towards the greenbelt that stifle much of the national debate

    Stockport market hall
  • Thursday, 18 July, 2024
    Brexit
    How to solve Britain’s building crisis Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: why it’s in Brussels’ interest to deepen energy co-operation with the UK

  • Thursday, 11 July, 2024
    Brexit
    Labour’s about to find out that alignment is not the same as agreement Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, the government’s plans to ‘get Britain building’

    Keir Starmer
  • Thursday, 4 July, 2024
    Brexit
    Populist policies only help populists Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, the financial pressure on local authorities and your guide to election night

  • Thursday, 27 June, 2024
    UK general election 2024
    Labour correctly highlights higher education crisis but offers no solutions Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, the UK’s fading allure for wealthy foreigners

    A law student at Cambridge university walks across the Great Court at Trinity College
  • Thursday, 20 June, 2024
    UK economy
    A plan for reviving regional cities in the UK Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: a salutary lesson for Labour

    George Osborne in a hard hat
  • Thursday, 13 June, 2024
    UK general election 2024
    Labour has political headroom on immigration. How will it use it? Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, cuts to youth services in England and Wales and their impact

  • Thursday, 6 June, 2024
    UK industrial strategy
    Does Britain need an industrial strategy? Premium content

    Labour identifies support for key sectors if it wins the election but critics say state intervention distorts the free market

    Britishvolt’s planned electric vehicle plant in Blyth in northern England
  • Thursday, 30 May, 2024
    Whitehall reform
    Fixing Whitehall comes second to big, brave decisions needed to fix Britain Premium content

    Keir Starmer pledges to reboot government operations; plus, UK skills training falls far behind peer countries

    Keir Starmer
  • Thursday, 23 May, 2024
    UK politics
    Labour can blast Tory chaos but it needs a plan too, not least on universities Premium content

    Row over graduate visas reveals political cack handedness; plus, tackling a serious social housing shortage

    James Cleverly and Rishi Sunak
  • Thursday, 16 May, 2024
    UK public policy
    Why we’re relaunching our guide to post-Brexit Britain Premium content

    Upgrading state will take more than money; plus, businesses bewail new hostile environment for overseas graduates

    Keir Starmer
  • Thursday, 9 May, 2024
    Brexit
    A redemptive moment for EU-UK relations Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter: a superficially comforting headline on inward investment

    Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s CDU party
  • Thursday, 2 May, 2024
    Newsletter
    The week that summed up the performative and inept nature of Brexit Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, how post-Brexit trade continues to confound expectations

    A lorry at the port of Dover
  • Thursday, 25 April, 2024
    Brexit
    Youth mobility deal risks waking sleeping Brexit dogs Premium content

    Also in this week’s newsletter, new border charges threaten to push up imported food prices

    Students
  • Thursday, 18 April, 2024
    Brexit
    A glimpse of the Brexit debate of the future Premium content

    Also this week, evidence grows that new border controls are hitting meat imports

    Liz Truss autobiography on sale in a book shop
Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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