Economics

CETA amounts to a full frontal attack on Parliamentary democracy and any concept of national sovereignty and makes a complete mockery of the Government’s oft-stated objective of ‘bringing back control’ says Union. GMB, Britain’s general union, has criticised a Government plan to sign away UK sovereignty in a mega trade deal without MPs having their say in Parliament. On June 26, the House of Commons will be asked to ratify the 2,255 page Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between...

The boss of one of the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturers today warned that in any scenario Brexit would have "severe negative consequences for the UK aerospace industry and Airbus in particular." He said that Airbus has repeatedly been demanding clarity from Theresa May’s government over what trading arrangements will be available with Europe in March 2019. He warned that without a clear government strategy the aviation multinational would have to take steps to protect production, putting 100,000 jobs in the...

There have been further warnings of a weakening of the UK economy, as we approach Brexit. This time the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts gross domestic product (GDP) will increase 1.3 per cent in 2018, a downgrade from its previous forecast of 1.4 per cent. It has also sliced its 2019 GDP outlook from 1.5 per cent down to 1.4 per cent. Adam Marshall, director general of the BCC said the UK faces another “extended period of weak growth”....

With confidence in a divided Conservative government’s ability to negotiate a Brexit that makes sense for Britain, Europe and Northern Ireland at an all-time low – both at home and abroad, Theresa May urgently needed some good news. And according to the front pages of the newspapers that have been cheerleaders for Brexit and more likely to scream “traitors” than report concerns from any quarters, the “Brexit Dividend” is just the good news soundbite that our PM needed. This week...

Wage growth excluding bonuses, an important measure for the Bank of England, slipped to 2.8 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent previously. The TUC's General Secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: "Wage growth is stuck in the slow lane. At this rate pay packets won't recover to their pre-recession levels for years. "We need to speed things up. Extending collective bargaining would boost living standards and help workers get a fairer share of the wealth they create." Suren Thiru head of economics...

Between Trump wanting to slap tariffs on our steel and the UK Government refusing to be in a European customs union, UK manufacturing risks being stranded. The sharpest fall in UK manufacturing output since 2012 offers more worrying news about the state of the UK economy. The drop is in April was the highest in almost six years, with a 1.4 per cent fall in factory production marking the third consecutive monthly fall. The April dip was the steepest fall...

The UK has nine out of the ten poorest regions in northern Europe, with suggestions that the rapid industrial decline brought about under Margaret Thatcher is chiefly responsible for creating pockets of poverty in one of the World's richest economies. West Wales, Durham and Tees Valley, South Yorkshire and Northern Ireland all rank highly as the poorest areas in Europe in a report by Inequality Briefing. The report notes that despite Britain having a similar economic make-up to its northern European...

The UK parliamentary constituencies most at risk from Donald Trump’s steel tariffs have been revealed in new analysis. Trump protectionist administration has slapped a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium, citing national security interests. Britain's steel industry directly contributes £2 billion to the economy every year, official figures show. In total, more than a billion pounds are paid in wages to steelworkers across the country each year. That adds up to more than...

The UK economy has been hit with some depressing economic statistics…and it can’t be blamed on the “beast from the east.” In the first quarter of 2018 GDP growth was a tiny 0.1% reported the Office for National Statistics. Household spending has been weak and business investment at reduced levels has meant that this is the worst performance for the economy for five years. The construction industry declined by 2.7% and business investment fell by 0.2%. These figures will heighten...