News Archive

Yesterday

Can Scottish Labour Come Back? A New Leader Faces a Huge Challenge

Scottish Labour is about to get a new leader, but the bigger question is whether it can find a way back into the mainstream of Scottish politics.  The leadership contest has narrowed to Michael Marra and Joe Fagan, after Monica Lennon failed to secure enough nominations to make the ballot.  

Yesterday

Diesel Shock Could Feed Through to Almost Everything We Buy

The latest rise in interest rates in Japan may seem a long way removed from the price of diesel at a Scottish filling station, but the two developments are part of the same global economic problem.   Energy prices have surged as the conflict in the Middle East has disrupted supplies and severely restricted normal traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.  

Yesterday

McLaren's £500m UK Investment: Can Britain Really Reindustrialise?

Britain's car industry has received an important vote of confidence, with McLaren Automotive announcing a £500 million investment programme that is expected to create 1,000 new jobs in the UK by 2032.   The investment will expand McLaren's research, development and manufacturing operations, including a new vehicle production facility.  

Yesterday

Fuel, Food and Energy: Is the Cost-of-Living Squeeze Changing How Britain Spends?

For much of the cost-of-living crisis, the big question was how households would cope with rising prices.  The latest figures suggest that we are beginning to see an answer.  

Yesterday

Bank of England's Bond Move: Could It Keep Interest Rates Higher for Longer?

The Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% attracted most of the attention this week.  But another decision could prove almost as important for the cost of borrowing in Britain.  

Yesterday

What Happens to the Stock Market If the AI Boom Turns Into a Bust?

Artificial intelligence has become one of the biggest stories in the stock market.   Companies involved in AI have reached extraordinary valuations, with investors betting that the technology will transform business and generate enormous profits for years to come.  

Yesterday

Bank of Japan Raises Rates: Why Britain Should Pay Attention

The Bank of Japan has raised interest rates again, taking its benchmark rate from 1% to 1.25%, the highest level in Japan for around three decades.   On the face of it, this might seem like a Japanese problem.  

17/9/2026

Hundreds of new officers to hunt down dirty money networks

Five hundred new officers to be recruited in a £500 million crackdown on money laundering, as part of the government's Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Strategy.   Hundreds of new officers will be recruited to track dirty money, disrupt organised crime networks and seize criminal assets under a major new crackdown.  

17/9/2026

England Offers Fishing-Boat Engine Grants. What About Scotland?

A new funding announcement for fishing vessels in England has highlighted an interesting difference between the support available to fishermen on either side of the Scottish border.   The UK Government announced on 15 September that England's Fisheries and Seafood Scheme has been expanded to provide grants towards new engines and gearboxes on fishing vessels.  

17/9/2026

 
ScotWind - Scotland’s £755 Million Windfall Raises Questions About Money, Jobs and Transparency

Scotland was promised a new era of offshore wind, billions of pounds of investment and the chance to build a major new industrial supply chain.   The ScotWind leasing round certainly produced one thing very quickly: a very large cheque.  

17/9/2026

 
Egypt's £billions Desert Gamble: Can You Really Create a New Nile Valley?

There is an extraordinary experiment taking place in the Egyptian desert which most people in Britain will probably never have heard of.   It is called the Toshka Project, or the New Valley Project.  

17/9/2026

 
The OAP triple lock isn’t a problem. The cost of pension tax relief is - Richard Murphy

Watch the video and listen carefully - You may be shocked.   The old age pension triple lock is under attack again.  

17/9/2026

The New Water Revolution: How Countries Around the World Are Learning to Move, Store and Reuse Water

The New Water Revolution: How Countries Around the World Are Learning to Move, Store and Reuse Water For most of human history, water management was fairly simple.   People settled beside rivers, dug wells, built dams and constructed canals to move water from one place to another.  

17/9/2026 : Local Authority

New Industry Connect Highland programme to strengthen links between schools and employers

Secondary schools and employers across the Highlands are coming together through a new partnership programme designed to connect classroom learning with future career opportunities and help develop the Highlands future workforce.   Industry Connect Highland, developed through My Highland Future and Workforce North, will run throughout the 2026/27 academic year with an initial focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  

17/9/2026

 
Dubai Is Building a New Route to Bypass the Strait of Hormuz

Dubai is an iconically wealthy city - but its wealth is built on vulnerable foundations, and right now, those foundations are facing a potential crisis due to the growing instability in the Strait of Hormuz.  And as you’re about to see, the possible solution Dubai is now considering is nothing short of extraordinary.  

17/9/2026

 
What really causes inflation? It isn’t money creation - Richard Murphy

Does creating more money cause inflation? We are repeatedly told that “money printing” inevitably pushes prices higher.  But that claim misunderstands both how modern money works and what actually causes inflation.  

17/9/2026

Salmon numbers in England hit lowest level on record

New research from EA, Cefas and Natural Resources Wales shows that salmon stocks in England have fallen to their lowest level since records began.   New research from the Environment Agency (EA), Cefas and Natural Resources Wales confirms salmon stocks in England are at their lowest level since records began.  

16/9/2026

 
China Capital: How China's Biggest Bank Is Expanding Beijing's Global Influence

A major investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has shed new light on how China is using one of the world's biggest banks to expand its economic reach around the globe.   The investigation, called China Capital, examines the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by assets.  

16/9/2026

Second wave of mortgage rate hikes begins before BBR decision

A second wave of mortgage rate hikes has pushed borrowing costs higher, ahead of the next Bank Base Rate (BBR) vote, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk analysis.   A second wave of mortgage rate hikes has been made by the major banks, off the back of higher swap rates, including NatWest, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds Bank and TSB, all for the second time since the start of September.  

16/9/2026

ECB Raises Rates: Is Britain’s Next Interest-Rate Move Now Up?

The European Central Bank has raised interest rates again, and that could be an important warning for Britain.   The ECB increased its key deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.5% last week as inflation across the eurozone moved higher.