This Month
UK economy flat-lines in new setback for Starmer government
GDP is estimated to change 0 per cent in the third quarter and officials have slashed expectations for future growth.
- Reuters
Macquarie’s embattled UK water asset gets go-ahead to jack up bills
Southern Water’s debt was downgraded to junk status this year, and regulators have prevented the company from paying its Australian owner any dividends.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- Nigel Farage
Musk is ‘ready to bankroll’ UK populist Farage. Is Australia next?
The Reform UK leader is potentially in line for a massive injection of support from the X owner. Could the billionaire be looking at Down Under, too?
- Hans van Leeuwen
Bank of England pauses rate cuts as inflation picks up
The BoE did not join its rate-cutting peers in the US and Europe because, despite a flatlining economy, prices and wages have gathered pace.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Trump won’t torpedo AUKUS subs deal, says Marles
Despite fears the president-elect will cool on the pact as the US struggles to produce enough submarines, the Australian defence minister says he will back the deal.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
‘Abomination’: Aussie schooner at centre of UK pint row
Do you prefer your beer by the pint or another measure? A House of Lords debate on a seemingly innocuous technical bill has reignited an age-old dispute.
- Hans van Leeuwen
‘Authentic’ Jeremy Clarkson tops polls in disaffected, desperate UK
His shift from Top Gear cars to Diddly Squat cows has so enhanced Clarkson’s everyman appeal that people are asking if a political future beckons.
- Hans van Leeuwen
November
Australian expats mull leaving UK over game-changer tax rules
The new government’s first budget has changed the equation for many long-term Australian expatriates. They have until April 6 to escape the inheritance tax net.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Want to visit the UK? It’s about to get a lot more painful
From January 8, any Australian visiting the UK will need a visa – even for a short holiday or an airport transit.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- UK leadership
Why Musk’s barbs are more blows for Starmer
Britain’s PM lurches from one self-inflicted mini-crisis to the next. He might say he’s playing a long game, but is he digging a hole too deep to climb out of?
- Hans van Leeuwen
Archbishop of Canterbury quits in scandal over ‘prolific abuser’
The spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide has stepped down, after a report found he had failed to act on allegations against John Smyth.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- US Votes 2024
Starmer, like Albo, faces a tricky task with Trump
Both left-wing leaders have to ensure political divergence does not disturb the US alliance. But Sir Keir has a particular problem: his name is Nigel Farage.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Britain’s first black party leader is an anti-woke warrior
Kemi Badenoch won the protracted Conservative Party leadership contest, and has until 2029 to craft a pitch to defeat Labour.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- Analysis
Britain’s budget is heavy on spending but light on reform
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has raised borrowing and taxes by historic amounts.
- The Economist
October
UK Labour budget smashes record for highest tax take in modern history
A blockbuster $79 billion taxation slug indicates Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s hope that ailing public services can be fixed before the 2029 election.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Trump slight favourite but US election ‘so close’: Costello
Former treasurer Peter Costello says a close result could inflame the US government; NAB backs first home buyer interest rate buffer changes. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Lucy Slade
Britain’s PM reels after Trump attacks his Labour Party
The Republican campaign filed a complaint about UK volunteers working for Kamala Harris. It may be a tactical gambit but risks harming relations, even AUKUS.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
Not quite the ‘Lizard of Oz’: How Brits reacted to Thorpe’s protest
Senator Lidia Thorpe’s heckling made headlines in the UK, but the British PM wasn’t going to pour petrol on the flames.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Local investors roped into British PM Starmer’s pitch to big business
Macquarie and IFM Investors highlighted their UK ambitions, as the new Labour government fought back against perceptions it is hostile to business.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Analysis
- UK leadership
For a politician, Boris Johnson makes a very good journalist
‘Unleashed’ is a disarmingly self-deprecating tale of an eventful British decade. His observations aren’t always reliable, but they’re sharp and illuminating.
- Hans van Leeuwen