In recent weeks, the cost of borrowing for the UK government in the bond market has risen sharply, reaching levels not seen in decades. These costs are reflected in the yields on UK government bonds, known as “gilts.” When gilt yields rise, it means the government must pay more interest to borrow money.
The Office for National Statistics has released its most detailed assessment yet of how President Trump’s 2025 tariff regime has reshaped UK–US trade. Covering the period from April 2025 to February 2026, the report offers a stark picture.
The true cost of the Iran conflict is hitting home for UK businesses and consumers, says the international delivery expert Parcelhero. New figures from the ONS show a 22.5 percentage point increase in the number of transport & storage sector firms planning May price increases over April, with retailers and manufacturers not far behind.
For weeks the global oil market has looked like a children’s rhyme acted out on a geopolitical stage. Prices were marched up the hill by fear, conflict and uncertainty and then marched down again the moment Washington hinted at a pause.
As the energy crisis continues to reshape policy across the UK, a key question keeps coming up. Will national governments override local councils that refuse planning permission for renewable energy projects like wind farms and battery storage sites? The short answer is this is already happening and it’s likely to increase.
As people living in Highland prepare to go to the poll for the Scottish Parliament Election on Thursday 7 May, voters are being reminded to be ready to make sure their vote count. All polling stations will open at 7am on Thursday 7 May and will remain open until 10pm.
As oil prices sit around elevated levels and global energy markets remain volatile, one of the less visible but highly significant impacts is playing out across Scotland’s public sector. Local councils, health boards, police forces, schools, and other public bodies collectively manage thousands of buildings and large vehicle fleets, all of which depend heavily on electricity, gas, and fuel.
The recent slide in the FTSE 100 still often referred to as the “Footsie” is not an isolated event but part of a broader global market reaction driven by a single, powerful chain of forces: geopolitics feeding into oil prices, oil prices feeding into inflation, and inflation shaping expectations for interest rates and economic growth. What looks on the surface like a routine market dip is, in reality, a tightly connected macro story unfolding in real time.
The idea that Britain is losing two pubs a day sounds like the kind of statistic designed to provoke nostalgia or alarm, but in early 2026 it has the uncomfortable distinction of being both real and well-sourced. According to figures compiled by the British Beer and Pub Association, around 160 pubs closed across the first quarter of the year—equivalent to roughly two every day.
When global headlines focus on oil trading around $114 per barrel, it is easy to assume that oil is the main driver of household energy costs. In reality, that is only part of the picture and for UK consumers, gas prices are just as important—if not more important than oil when it comes to determining electricity bills, heating costs, and the overall direction of inflation.
Two months after the United States, along with Israel, launched a war against Iran, that conflict appears far from a lasting resolution. Much commentary on the protracted nature of the conflict has centred on the limits of both the military and diplomatic approaches to the war.
Something very strange is happening in global markets right now. Every week brings another headline involving billions or tens of billions being thrown at companies, funds, and infrastructure bets tied to AI, energy, or automation.
Inflation in Southeast Asia in 2026 is no longer a localised economic story confined to individual countries. It is becoming part of a wider global transmission mechanism that links household budgets in Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok to supermarket prices in London.
For months there have been many stories about what happens if oil prices go even higher but many analyst are now saying the end of May is crunch time. For decades, $200 oil was the stuff of doomsday forecasts just a theoretical ceiling invoked by analysts to illustrate the fragility of global energy markets.
When Britain launched the “Dig for Victory” campaign in 1939, it wasn’t nostalgia or whimsy it was survival. The country imported 70% of its food, U‑boats were sinking merchant ships, and the government needed every garden, verge, and allotment to produce calories.
When Donald Trump announced that the United States would begin escorting stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he framed it as a humanitarian mission to “free up” vessels trapped for weeks. But behind the rhetoric lies a hard economic truth.
As the cost of living continues to rise, a common assumption emerges. If prices go up enough, people will simply cut back on food, cigarettes, alcohol, and especially unhealthy treats.
Global oil markets have been thrown into renewed uncertainty following a fresh escalation around the Strait of Hormuz one of the most strategically vital chokepoints in the world. Recent comments from Donald Trump, outlining a potential US role in guiding ships through the strait, have added a new layer of complexity to an already tense situation.
The ECIU analysis argues that the UK’s electricity system is becoming increasingly self-reliant, even as North Sea oil and gas production continues its long-term decline. The key shift is the rapid growth of domestic renewable energy—especially wind and solar—which is reducing dependence on imported fuels.
By late 2026, UK households are expected to face food prices that are dramatically higher than just a few years ago. Research from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) suggests that by November, grocery costs could be around 50% higher than they were at the start of the cost-of-living crisis in 2021.