Markus Andrews

The UK’s economic growth forecast has been slashed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a warning that the fallout from Donald Trump’s trade war will hit Britain harder than the rest of Europe. The global economic organisation predicts growth will stall by 0.5 per cent in 2025, compared to its previous forecast, with a further downgrade of 0.1 per cent in 2026. It means the UK economy will grow by just 1.1 per cent next year, and 1.4 per cent the year after.Rising government borrowing costs as a result of Trump’s tariffs as well as higher inflation and sky-high energy costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are all to blame, the IMF said.The downgrade raises the prospect of further tax hikes or spending cuts in the chancellor’s autumn Budget More

Sir Keir Starmer no longer believes trans women are women in the wake of last week’s landmark Supreme Court ruling. The prime minister has previously said that “trans women are women”, but asked to repeat that statement on Tuesday he pointed to the judgment, which ruled the term woman referred to biological sex, saying it had “answered that question”.Downing Street later confirmed the U-turn. Asked if the PM still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, his official spokesman said: “No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman. That is set out clearly by the court judgment.”Trans women are not women, Keir Starmer has said in the wake of last week’s landmark Supreme Court ruling More

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed the UK’s economic growth forecast in a fresh blow to Rachel Reeves, upping the ante as the chancellor prepares to hold talks in Washington DC this week. Ms Reeves is expected to have her first face-to-face meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, as she pursues a new economic agreement the UK hopes can offset some of the cost of Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. But the news of the growth downgrade, more severe than the prediction for the rest of Europe, will increase the pressure on the chancellor to secure a deal – or face the spectre of tax rises or even more spending cuts later this year. Rachel Reeves is expected to spend three days in the USA More

British Steel has said it will end a consultation on up to 2,700 redundancies, after the UK government took control of the firm earlier this month.Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously recalled MPs from their spring recess so Parliament could pass emergency legislation allowing the government to take operational control of British Steel. Since the government’s intervention, British Steel has been able to secure a stable supply of raw materials to its two blast furnaces, Queen Anne and Queen Bess. Now British Steel has confirmed it has officially withdrawn the HR1 consultation form it had submitted to the Department of Business and Trade on March 27. This means all operations at British Steel are being maintained, including Scunthorpe Rod Mill. Lisa Coulson, interim Chief Commercial Officer said: “This has been a difficult and worrying time for British Steel staff and their families. I can however confirm that we are closing the redundancy consultation without action.“Since the Government passed its legislation, we have been working day and night to ensure we are able to stabilise our operations. The work done to secure the raw materials we need for both Queen Anne and Queen Bess blast furnaces means we are able to run both continuously.“We would like to thank our trade union partners for their professionalism and the support of their members over recent days and weeks.“And I would also like to thank everyone in our workforce for their extraordinary dedication over recent days and weeks. It is your hard work and passion that means steelmaking in Scunthorpe has a bright future.“Quite simply, British Steel workers are the finest in the world.”British Steel has ended its redundancy consultation without any action More

A growing chorus of voices – from teachers and parents to politicians and tech experts – is calling for action over children’s access to smartphones. At the heart of the debate is a simple but divisive question: should mobile phones be completely banned in schools, or even entirely for children under a certain age?Supporters of a full ban argue that smartphones are fueling distraction, anxiety, bullying, and even violence. One Independent reader, 49niner, emphasised the need for regulation: “We need far better regulation of the internet at all levels, and especially for under 18s. The opportunity for bad actors to peddle poisonous, often dangerous misinformation online is legion.”But critics warn that bans alone don’t address the root causes of digital harm. Another reader – and former teacher – CScarlett pointed out that “misogyny, misinformation and bullying existed long before smartphones,” and argued children need engaging lessons, better support at home, and safe, educational spaces online.With strong arguments on both sides and nearly all secondary school students using smartphones, is a ban a smart way to protect them or just an easy fix for a bigger issue?We want to hear from you. Vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments – we’ll feature the most compelling responses and discuss the results in the coming days.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can take part in the debate. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More

Kemi Badenoch has been accused of throwing in the towel before a vote has been cast in May’s local elections. The Conservative leader warned Tory supporters to brace for a “very difficult” set of results for the party as voters go to the polls next Thursday. She is leading the Tories into the local elections against a high watermark set by Boris Johnson at the peak of his popularity in 2021.And, setting expectations low for her first electoral test as leader of the Conservatives, Ms Badenoch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We lost last year in a historic defeat – these elections are going to be very difficult for Conservatives.”Two-thirds of the seats four years ago we won – there’s no way we are going to be able to do that again.”Kemi Badenoch has been accused of having thrown in the towel before polls open More

Trans women should use male toilets, the equalities minister has said, declaring that “services should be accessed on the basis of biological sex”. Bridget Phillipson said businesses should ensure “they have appropriate provision in place”, which could mean unisex facilities.But she said the Supreme Court ruling was clear about the basis on which services should be used. Her comments came after a long-awaited judgment delivered last Wednesday in which the UK’s highest court confirmed the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”. It means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if it is deemed “proportionate”.Bridget Phillipson said the Supreme Court was clear services should be accessed on the basis of biological sex More

Sir Keir Starmer is close to striking a major deal with the EU that would let British arms companies sell billions of pounds of weapons to European allies, it has emerged.Under the agreement, UK companies would be able to bid for business under the bloc’s new €150 billion (£130 billion) defence fund. But the deal comes after the UK reportedly made major concessions to Brussels on EU access to Britain’s fishing waters, in what critics will likely see as a betrayal of Brexit. The EU last month unveiled its “Readiness 2030” security strategy as part of a drive to break its dependence on the US amid heightened Russian aggression.The strategy included an easing of budget rules to create the multi-billion pound loan plan focused on buying defence equipment in Europe rather than suppliers in the US. A deal on defence procurement comes after British negotiators prepared to make concessions on fishing More