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The old ‘warfare v welfare’ arguments are back – but it’s Britain’s real duty to spend on both | Frances Ryan

While we need protecting from foreign enemies, slashing benefits in favour of defence will make millions less, not more, safeAs the row over the military budget grows, Keir Starmer has spent much of the past few days insisting he’s spending huge sums of taxpayer money on defence. Every single government department has made cuts to fund next month’s defence investment plan (Dip), the prime minister promised, resulting in “the biggest sustained increase since the cold war”. On Sunday, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, told the BBC that cabinet ministers have been asked to look for further reductions to help fund defence.Now squint and replace the word “defence” with “welfare”. Imagine Starmer – or any prime minister for that matter – boasting they’ve pinched cash from the NHS or schools to boost benefit payments. Indeed, swap “defence” for any sort of progressive cause – think housing, social care or net zero – and you’d be hard-pressed to picture a politician trying to save their career by pledging vast levels of spending, let alone if that spending was lifted from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

EV prices in UK and EU not likely to dive due to Chinese rivalry, says Xpeng boss

Brian Gu says he sees Chinese car firms competing on quality rather than launching price war as at homeMotorists in the UK and EU should not expect a sharp drop in the cost of electric vehicles despite increased competition among Chinese manufacturers, one of the country’s biggest electric carmakers has said.Brian Gu, the vice-chair of the manufacturer Xpeng, said that Chinese carmakers could compete on quality to win customers in the EU and UK, rather than unleashing a brutal price war as they have in China. Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine

G7 told ‘we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes’, with Russia’s finance networks and shadow fleet targetedKeir Starmer has vowed to “choke off” Russian revenue with further sanctions and to provide hundreds of millions of pounds worth of energy support for Ukraine, as he met world leaders in France for the G7.After a torrid political week at home, the British prime minister sought to put himself on the front foot on the international stage at the meeting of the group of seven, which kicked off on Monday in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

City & Guilds bosses awarded themselves millions in bonuses, investigation finds

Report finds Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail paid bonuses ‘without authorisation or knowledge’ of superiors The two most senior executives at City & Guilds awarded themselves millions of pounds of bonuses “without authorisation from, or knowledge of” their superiors, an internal investigation into last year’s £166m sale of the vocational charity has found.The report on the conduct of Kirstie Donnelly, the former chief executive of City & Guilds, and the body’s finance chief, Abid Ismail, sets out how the pair “directly authorised and paid bonuses to themselves” of nearly £3m combined. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

Trump says Iran deal has been signed – video

Donald Trump has said an agreement with Iran had been signed and that the text of the deal will be released some time after a formal signing on Friday, adding that the strait of Hormuz will be fully opened. Speaking on Monday alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, before this week's G7 meeting in France, Trump also said Iran 'won't have a nuclear weapon'US and Iran reach framework peace deal to end war Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

Oil and gas unlikely to return to prewar prices for months even if Hormuz reopens

Markets welcome US-Iran peace deal but prices may stay high as buyers race to refill depleted emergency crude stockpilesOil prices hit three-month low and markets rallyAfter more than 100 days of the greatest recorded disruption to the world’s energy supplies, the global oil and gas markets have breathed a sigh of relief.Hours after Donald Trump confirmed that a US-Iran peace deal would lead to the reopening of the strait of Hormuz for tankers carrying millions of barrels of oil and gas, the price of Brent crude tumbled to lows of $82 a barrel. Wholesale gas prices fell about 6%. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

How will the under-16s social media ban work? – podcast

Keir Starmer has announced his social media ban for under-16s. The proposals are tougher than expected, and include a ban on major apps such as TikTok, Instagram, X, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook. Plus, the Makerfield byelection is on Thursday. How will team Starmer be preparing for a potential Andy Burnham win? Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

'Growing up too young': Londoners praise under-16s social media ban – video

Social media access in the UK is set to be banned for under-16s as part of an online safety drive that includes a host of other restrictions.On Monday, Londoners praised the measures that are planned to block children from access to Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, X and Facebook, as well as livestreaming and communication on gaming platforms.The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the changes were a 'line in the sand' for tech companies that had failed to keep children safe.A government consultation sought views on restrictions, curfews, app time limits and curbs on what it has described as addictive design features. Nine out of 10 parents who responded supported a ban, and two-thirds of young people agreed that children under 16 should be blocked from using at least some platforms.YouTube, which is owned by Google, said the policy could push children towards unsafe platforms – a common point made by ban opponents.A spokesperson said: 'YouTube is a vital resource for young people, educators and parents. Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less safe services'Social media firms hit back as Starmer announces ban for under-16s in UKWhy is the UK launching an ‘Australia plus’ social media ban and how will it work? Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

Tallying the global cost of the US-Israel war against Iran

From thousands of lives lost to an economic shock likely to plunge millions into poverty, the world is paying dearlyIt would be hard to find a human on Earth unaffected by the US-Israel war against Iran. Several thousand have been killed. Millions are paying more each day in steeper food prices or at the petrol pump, and as inflation eats away at the value of their earnings.For many, the final bill has not yet come, but it will eventually. They will pay for the long-term damage caused by the biggest threat of all to the global economy: uncertainty. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

Listen to manufacturers and unions: high electricity prices are killing industry | Nils Pratley

Make UK and TUC are right – ministers need a proper strategy to cut energy costs before there are more closuresBritain ‘faces deindustrialisation’ without relief from high energy pricesThe manufacturing lobby group Make UK and the Trades Union Congress have picked a bad moment to plead for urgent relief for the nation’s industrial companies from sky-high electricity prices. The cabinet is tearing itself apart over defence spending, so even a “one minute to midnight” call for an extra £3bn for manufacturers is likely to be shunted into the long grass until after the likely Labour leadership contest.But the two bodies are correct on their main points. The cost of energy in the UK is a heavy drag on business competitiveness. Ministers’ talk about serious industrial revival is wishful thinking while UK companies are paying the highest electricity prices in the G7, including four times as much as US counterparts. High prices also cut across most of the big items on the government’s to-do list – everything from energy transition itself to, indeed, increasing domestic defence production. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

Investment fraud in UK soared to more than £220m lost last year, trade body says

Scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine rise as criminals use AI to increasingly carry out larger-scale fraudIncreasingly elaborate investment scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine have soared in the past year with more than £220m lost to the fraud, according to a report.UK banks reported almost 15,000 investment scams in 2025 as criminals use artificial intelligence to dupe people out of their money. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 days ago

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An ambitious project aims to build a business hub to rival Singapore or Hong Kong

Bbc.co.uk 3 days ago

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