UK economy assessments should be cut to one a year, IMF suggests
The influential IMF, as part of its annual health check of the UK economy, said the best solution would be for the government to allow greater room for manoeuvre around its financial targets, "so that small changes in the outlook do not compromise assessments of rule compliance". The advice, if followed, could mean more tax rises than expected at the Budget in Autumn, as the chancellor rebuilds a bigger financial buffer to deal with a volatile global economy.The government is considering a change that would help support its move to there being a single Budget every year, a move which was designed to increase policy stability.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently recommended downplaying the Spring Statement with a looser borrowing target, to prevent the need for constant fiddling of tax and spend plans.The chancellor is following two main rules for government finances, which she has repeatedly said are "non-negotiable". They are: day-to-day government costs to be paid for by tax income, rather than borrowingdebt to be falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament in 2029-30The IMF, in general, praised the UK economy and recent "bold agenda" of pro-growth reforms, saying its medium-term borrowing plans were "credible" and that the UK's trade deals meant it was well placed to ride out current global uncertainties.It suggested that should economic shocks materialise, the government should consider replacing the state pension triple lock, widening the applicability of VAT, means-testing more benefits, and co-payments for richer users of the NHS.Responding to the IMF's report, Reeves said: "Today's IMF report confirms that the choices we've taken have ensured Britain's economic recovery is underway, and that our plans will tackle the deep-rooted economic challenges that we inherited in the face of global headwinds."Our fiscal rules allow us to confront those challenges by investing in Britain's renewal."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
18 minutes ago
- Metro
What's stopping Keir Starmer from recognising Palestine as a state?
Sir Keir Starmer is coming under a lot of pressure to recognise Palestinian statehood. He's under pressure from 221 MPs – more than a third of all the people who sit in the House of Commons – who collectively signed a letter urging recognition. He's under pressure from Jeremy Corbyn's newly announced left-wing party, which placed alleged UK complicity in the Gaza horror at the centre of its launch, and the significant number of supporters it has attracted. And he's under pressure from top Labour figures, ranging from London Mayor Sadiq Khan to members of his own cabinet, who are pushing him on the matter both publicly and privately. Those calls have grown in the past few days, as images of starving children have been beamed around the world and French President Emmanuel Macron has announced France will formally recognise Palestine as a state. But the Prime Minister has remained firm, insisting he will only press forward at the moment when the move would have the maximum impact. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. In a statement released on Thursday night, Starmer said: 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.' The UK is deeply entwined in the history of the region currently occupied by Israel and Palestine. In 1916, the British claimed control of the region called Palestine amid the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the following year, Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour said the UK would back a 'national home' for the Jewish people in the area. A little over three decades later, in 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of Israel. The UN admitted Israel as a member in 1949, but not Palestine. It was not until 1988 that Palestinian statehood was recognised by any UN member states, after the Palestinian National Council formally declared independence. Today, 147 of the UN's 193 member states recognise Palestine, including the vast majority of the countries in Asia, Africa and South America. The UK, US, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are among the nations that do not. In 2014, MPs in the House of Commons voted to 274 to 12 in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. But David Cameron's government responded with a line that remains familiar today – that recognition would wait until it was deemed most appropriate for the peace process. On the face of it, the British government appears to be closer than ever to announcing formal recognition of a Palestinian state. Among the high-profile cabinet members reportedly arguing in favour are Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The UK has also been closely aligning with France on the issue, as part of the E3 group of nations alongside Germany. However, both Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have insisted publicly that the move is only worth making when it would be most effective in the pursuit of peace. On Tuesday, Lammy told the BBC: 'We don't just want to recognise symbolically, we want to recognise as a way of getting to the two states that sadly many are trying to thwart at this point in time.' Labour's election manifesto last year said the party is 'committed to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.' More Trending The letter signed by 221 MPs, organised by Labour's Sarah Champion, said the announcement of recognition should come at a UN conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday. It said: 'British recognition of Palestine would be particularly powerful given its role as the author of the Balfour Declaration and the former Mandatory Power in Palestine. Since 1980 we have backed a two-state solution. 'Such a recognition would give that position substance as well as living up to a historic responsibility we have to the people under that Mandate.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Will there be a bank holiday and trophy parade if England win Women's Euro 2025? MORE: Empty shops to be turned into clubs and bars under new government plans MORE: Trump warns 'there'll be no Europe left' before immediately hitting golf course
The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
Hated Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri refusing to sell club for less than £100m in another huge blow
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY owner Dejphon Chansiri still wants a staggering £100m for the troubled club. The Owls are still in debt and face signing restrictions with a reduced squad. 1 Wednesday missed player pay days for two consecutive months in June and July. Earlier this month, SunSport reported that Chansiri owes more than £4million in football debts — which will have to be paid by whoever buys the club. The extent of the cash woes emerged during takeover bids by several groups in the prior weeks. Earlier this month it was reported that US businessman Tilman Fertitta was in talks to buy the crisis club. Fertitta, 68, is the US ambassador for Italy and is an ally of Donald Trump. The businessman also owns the Houston Rockets in the NBA. Wednesday manager Danny Rohl initially did not show up for pre season amid the club's woes. The 36-year-old eventually returned but has had to work with a threadbare squad. The Owls beat Mansfield 2-0 in a training ground friendly yesterday. Club stalwarts Barry Bannan and Callum Paterson did not feature, despite having trained with the Owls in recent weeks. Both players have been out of contract since June 30. It remains to be seen whether Wednesday's sorry situation will have improved by their Championship opener against Leicester City on August 10.
The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hundreds of DfT civil servants to be moved to state-owned rail operator
Hundreds of civil servants are being transferred from the Department for Transport to the state-owned rail operator as the government looks to cut Whitehall posts and overhaul the railways. Ministers have been pushing to find savings from across the civil service, but a government spokesperson denied there would be immediate redundancies in what bosses told staff was a 'critical phase' of the creation of Great British Railways (GBR). However, industry sources believe jobs will go, as employees consider their future outside the civil service, and the government attempts to cut costs and reduce duplication in a nationalised railway. A message to staff from two rail director generals, Richard Goodman and Alex Hynes, said the DfT was 'entering an exciting and critical phase of rail reform' and had 'updated colleagues involved in the moves about what this approach' would mean for them. A formal consultation process is beginning that could lead to 300 employees being moved out over the course of this year, with many heading to offices in London Waterloo, as the state holding company DfT Operator Limited (DfTO) takes more train operators under its control. The Essex commuter service C2C was brought into public hands a week ago. This followed the first planned nationalisation, of South Western services, in May. Under government plans, the country's remaining passengerservices will be renationalised and the railway will be run by GBR that will also incorporate the functions of Network Rail to integrate track and trains. A DfT spokesperson said: 'There will be no redundancies as a result of these moves into DfTO. The 200-300 DfT staff involved will transfer to DfTO, bringing their work, skills and expertise closer to the frontline of a publicly owned railway. This will bring us a step closer to ending the fragmented railway we see today, towards a railway run as a business by industry professionals.' The DfTO chief executive, Robin Gisby, will not see through the transition to GBR, after it was announced that he would be stepping down in December. Gisby had run state-owned train operations for seven years, and had said two weeks earlier that he would continue to work through the transition. However, sources indicated that GBR would now probably not be up and running until 2028. The DfT spokesperson added: 'DfTO is about to enter a pivotal phase and will be appointing a successor to lead the publicly owned operators through this change, bringing the network together under one mission.' The chief executive of Network Rail, Sir Andrew Haines, is also retiring in the autumn. His successor was last week named as Jeremy Westlake, currently chief financial officer. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Haines and Gisby are leaving at a time of the biggest operational upheaval in Britain's railways for many years, the December 2025 timetable change. The new timetable is intended to allow for the benefits of billions of pounds spent upgrading the east coast mainline, to include faster trains to Edinburgh and more services to stations along the route. Previously expected last December, it was postponed amid fears of a repeat of the chaos that followed a switch in May 2018. Sources said the new timetable would still be 'challenging' but the industry was under pressure to demonstrate the worth of the investment. Passengers on the line faced disruptions on Sunday when overrunning engineering works and a power failure in north London meant no trains could run out of Kings Cross until the afternoon.
