Chancellor Rachel Reeves did indeed back the expansion of Heathrow Airport to create a third runway at the internation hub yesterday, as expected. “Heathrow is at the heart of the UK’s openness as a country, it connects us to emerging markets all over the world, opening up new opportunities for growth,” she said in her speech on economic growth. “As our only hub airport Heathrow is in a unique position, and we cannot duck the decision any longer. So I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway, and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer.” However, her pledges on this morning’s media round to “see spades in the ground” “within this parliament” and “see planes take off” have had cold water poured on them by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who saying it won’t be ready until 2050 because it will face decades of delays linked to the planning process, legal filings, climate protests and the engineering challenge of building it across the M25 motorway.

Reeves is also refusing to rule out putting more taxes on businesses, despite warning from economists that she may be forced into emergency tax rises come March in order to meet her own fiscal rules. When asked by journalists after her speech yesterday, she avoided the question, instead highlighting the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) 2025 upgrade for the economy, which predicts the UK will have the fastest growth among major European countries. She continued refusing to rule out fresh tax hikes in her media round this morning, saying the next set of Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts are two months off, during which time “a lot of things can happen” and so she will not “give a running commentary on the March 26 forecasts”. Reeves did, however, tell GB News she has “no plans” to alter the Inheritance Tax exemption whereby assets can be passed on to beneficiaries tax free provided the donor lives for another seven years. However, among those issuing a fresh warning on likely tax hikes today is Left-wing think tank The Resolution Foundation, which says the likelihood of the Chancellor complying with her pledge to keep Government spending within the confines of the tax take, remains on a “knife edge”. She may be forced to find some extra cash through tax increases, the Foundation says, or make spending cuts, to avoid “market jitters”.

However, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is warned Reeves she needs to increase defence spending, telling MPs on the Treasury Select Committee yesterday that the UK faces “very big structural headwinds” as new military threats emerge, requiring extra funds, despite the national debt already running at more than £2.6tn, or 97.6% of GDP. “I don’t think it is controversial at all to say the post-Cold War dividend in terms of defence spending, sadly, is not there as it was, for reasons that I think we all know,” he said. And, despite the Government’s pledge to cut the benefits bill, Daily Mail Political Editor Jason Groves noticed yesterday that Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall “slipped out” a statement revealing her department is on course to breach the annual 'welfare cap' on spending by £8.6bn this year.

Meanwhile, in an article for The Times, Keir Starmer has vowed to “deregulate” Britain and cut through “thickets of red tape”. “Deregulation is essential,” he said, because investors are shunning the UK because of excessive rules, adding that stripping regulators of their power would form an essential pillar of the government’s pledge to deliver growth. “If we don’t curb regulator overreach, then we won’t unlock the investment needed for a more prosperous future,” he wrote, also saying: “This may seem like an unusual goal for Labour politicians,” but it is “essential for realising Labour ambitions in this era – a crucial component of my Plan for Change”. “If we don’t deregulate the planning system, then we cannot spread the security of home ownership to the next generation. If we don’t simplify environmental protections, then we cannot decarbonise our electricity grid and generate cheaper, homegrown energy”. Just before Christmas, Starmer and Reeves charged 17 different watchdogs with finding ways to boost economic growth and, last week, the chair of The Competition and Markets Authority, Marcus Bokkerink, was ousted by Ministers because of his “different approach” to growth and replaced by former Amazon executive Doug Gurr.

Andrew Bailey appears to be backing the Government’s deregulation plans, also telling the Treasury Select Committee yesterday that addressing the UK’s “low potential growth rate” is a vital question in which regulation plays a major role. “Financial stability is a foundation for growth. There isn’t a trade off in a fundamental sense,” he said, adding: “Having said that, there are choices to be made about the particular choice of regulatory instruments and how regulation is operating to enable us to achieve the primary objective of financial stability, while also supporting the growth and competitiveness objective.”

The annual row about which leading politicians will or will not publish their 2024/25 tax return is now in full swing. So far, Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and Ed Davey have said they will, while Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage say they won’t. When asked by GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope, Farage said: "I was not Reform leader in that tax year. I was a civilian." Asked if he will publish his tax return for the current financial year, 2024/25, he said: "I will think about it but I doubt it. Do they want my inside leg measurements?"

Car production has slumped to levels not seen since the 1950s, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which reports the number of cars made in Britain fell to 779,584 last year, the lowest level since 1954, with the except of the Covid years. The trade body warned worse is still to come however, predicting just 775,000 cars will roll off the production lines in 2025. compared to 1.3m in 2019. The SMMT attributes the slump to a Europe-wide lack of demand as drivers shun the electric vehicles UK and EU politicians are determined to make them buy through punitive legislation that hits manufacturers.

The North Sea Transition Authority has ordered energy firm Cuadrilla to decommission Britain’s last two fracking wells in Lancashire and fill them with cement. There has been a moratorium on fracking in England since 2019 due largely to environmental concerns, but Cuadrilla has fought against this, arguing it is better to “have a reliable and secure supply [of gas] produced here at home” at a time when the UK’s gas supply is dwindling. National Gas data shows the UK gas stockpiles are down by around 36% on last year’s level. “The UK is heavily reliant on natural gas to keep the lights on, to heat our homes and to provide cost effective energy to British industry. That dependence will continue for the next several decades,” Cuadrilla CEO Francis Egan said, highlighting how “domestically produced gas is four times cleaner” than liquefied natural gas from imports from countries like Algeria, Qatar, Egypt and Angola, from which we take nearly two thirds of all the gas we use. Lord Mackinlay, Chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group told City AM: “Back in 2022, I asked the previous Conservative Government not to commit the madness of concreting up a promising and valuable shale gas sites. Thankfully, they listened, but now Labour appears willing to close off an incredible opportunity to secure homegrown energy supplies. It seems crazy to salt the earth in this needless and reckless way.”

Coffee prices have hit a record high of $3.68 (£2.90) per lb after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Colombia with trade tariffs. Prices are now up 15% so far this year, also because of poor harvests.

Tesco is cutting 400 jobs, targeting head office management roles, managers at Tesco Mobile stores, and in-store bakery staff. CEO Matthew Barnes said: "These are difficult decisions affecting our colleagues, but we believe they are necessary to enable us to invest in what matters most to our customers. Our priority is to support impacted colleagues and we will do everything we can to help them find alternative roles within our business. Today, we have almost 1,000 vacancies available." The news comes on top of job cuts announced by Sainsbury's and Morrisons: Morrisons is axing more than 200 jobs to cut costs linked to changes announced in the Autumn Budget, while Sainsbury’s is cutting 3,000 jobs, many of those linked to the fact it is closing its 61 remaining cafes, plus a 20% cull of senior management roles.

The Post Office is also said by Sky News to be planning more job cuts as part of a transformation plan aimed at boosting payouts for thousands of sub-postmasters caught up in the Horizon IT scandal. The newscaster says the publicly-owned firm is in the process of informing about 100 senior managers that their roles will be affected by its proposals and that some of their jobs will disappear, although the precise number is unclear. In November, Post Office Chairman Nigel Railton said he wanted to add £250m annually to Post Office sub-postmaster remuneration. "The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters," he said at the time. "We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal."

Lloyds Banking Group is closing another 136 UK branches. The lender has not given any details of job losses, but says those affected will be offered another role at another branch or in a different part of the business. The closures include 61 Halifax and 14 Bank of Scotland sites, starting in May with a forecast completion date of March 2026.

The female-only networking and events business operated from a Mayfair townhouse by women’s collective AllBright is going into administration. “Sadly, with rising rents and the scale of the building, combined with its premium location, the Mayfair townhouse is no longer viable. While events, networking opportunities and learning programmes remain in high demand, the social and dining spaces were underutilised,” an email seen by The Guardian said. In the year to March 2022, AllBright reported a pre-tax loss of £6m, according to Companies House. In a statement on LinkedIn, co-founder Debbie Wosskow, who exited the firm in 2022, said: “Two and a half years have passed since our exit and DEI [Diversity, Equality and Inclusion] now seems unfashionable. Those early rooms of incredible women lit us up, and relationships were built that changed women’s lives. “We hope that the amazing AllBright members continue to find inspirational spaces in which to come together in the future”.

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