UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his first foreign trip to Kyiv on Ukraine’s 35th Independence Day, co-chairing the Coalition of the Willing and clearing defence firm MBDA to share classified SCALP missile components with France and Ukraine.
Tag: United Kingdom
Posted inEconomy
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Q2 as Industrial Output Contracts
Britain’s GDP expanded 0.4% in the second quarter of 2026, easing from Q1’s 0.6% pace, as a fall in industrial production and manufacturing cast doubt on the durability of the recovery.
Posted inEconomy
Bank of England Holds at 3.75% as Hawkish Dissent Grows to Three MPC Members
The Bank of England kept its benchmark rate at 3.75% on July 30, but a surprise 6-3 vote split — with three MPC members pushing for a hike to 4% — signalled the committee is leaning hawkish.
Posted inWorld
Andy Burnham Set to Become UK Prime Minister After Unopposed Labour Win
Andy Burnham was declared Labour leader on July 17 after 379 of 403 MPs backed him, and is set to formally take office as Prime Minister on July 21.
Posted inGeopolitics
UK Fast-Tracks Project Nightfall Ballistic Missile for Ukraine
Britain has signed preliminary contracts for its first domestically developed ballistic missile in more than 50 years, with deliveries to Ukraine targeted for late 2027 and test launches due within a year.
Posted inTech
London Tech Week closes with £6bn in AI pledges and a national compute push
London Tech Week 2026 concluded with £6 billion in AI pledges, including AMD’s £2bn five-year commitment and a UK government £1.1bn AI Hardware Plan anchored by a £750m national supercomputer.
Posted inEconomy
UK economy slips 0.1% in April as Iran war hits services and energy output
UK monthly GDP fell 0.1% in April, the first contraction since August 2025, as energy output dropped and businesses cited the Middle East conflict as a drag on turnover.
Posted inEconomy
UK economy grew 0.6% in Q1 but OECD trims growth forecast on Iran war risk
UK real GDP expanded 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026, but the OECD has since cut its full-year growth forecast to 0.7% and raised its inflation call to 4.0%.
Posted inTech
UK announces AI hardware strategy to cut semiconductor dependence
The UK government unveiled a domestic AI hardware plan in late April, committing to build sovereign capability in the chips and semiconductor technologies underpinning the AI stack — a belated but explicit acknowledgement that dependence on US and Asian supply chains is a strategic vulnerability.
Posted inWorld
Starmer faces rebellion as Labour loses 1,500 council seats to Reform
The UK’s local elections on May 8 delivered Labour its worst council result in decades, with the party losing 1,496 seats and control of 38 councils, and 72 MPs now demanding Starmer resign or set a departure timetable.