Shrinking economy offers unhelpful backdrop for Rachel Reeves’s growth push

GDP goes in wrong direction as chancellor puts final touches to fiscal plans

Why is Keir Starmer’s government seeking to cut the benefits bill?

Labour targeting sickness and disability benefits that have ballooned amid increasingly ageing and unwell population

Labour needs an urgent history lesson. Its plans couldn’t fund a war and won’t boost growth

We are seeing a pale version of military Keynesianism, and for what? That money would be better spent fighting the climate crisis, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott

UK drops down list of affluent nations after decade of stagnation, NIESR finds

Districts in Birmingham now ranked below poorest areas of France, Malta and Slovenia as institute urges rethink on planned welfare cuts

Timid FCA has retreated too far on its ‘name and shame’ proposals

An uncontentious improvement has been lost for the sake of protecting City competitiveness. No wonder consumer groups are dismayed

Financial watchdog scraps plan to ‘name and shame’ UK firms under investigation

FCA move follows longstanding pressure against new public interest test for announcing investigations

When politicians tell us to focus on growth we need to ask: ‘Why, and for whom?’

Isolate growth from public good and you are simply planning for breakdown. My research shows that a resilient society should be rooted in wellbeing, not wealth, says former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

‘Don’t punish the vulnerable’: Labour MPs uneasy over planned welfare cuts

Ministers say ‘unsustainable’ rise in spending must be tackled but many backbenchers fear changes will not work

Military spending is touted as a remedy for Britain’s ailing economy. Here’s why it won’t work

Since the 1980s Britain’s military spending has grown in real terms, yet more than half of military jobs have been lost. The sector is hi-tech and low labour, says Khem Rogaly, a senior research fellow at the thinktank Common Wealth

Britain is now following a developing country economic model – and we know where that leads

Selling off assets to foreign owners, deregulating markets, and liberalising financial services only leads to inequality and instability, says Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation

Trump’s trade war could pose ‘substantial’ threat to UK economy, says Bank

Although UK may avoid tariffs, overall productivity could be impacted by tit-for-tat tariffs between economies

Cross-party group of MPs express ‘deep concern’ over cuts to UK’s aid budget

International development committee warns of the potential damage cuts may cause in letter to the PM

Rachel Reeves vows to use defence spending to support UK’s ‘left behind’ industrial towns

Chancellor says increased military spending should support ‘British jobs and British industries’

UK awarded its lowest ranking for workplace gender equality in a decade

‘Sluggish’ pace in tackling gender pay gap and worsening employment levels push UK back to 18th in PwC index of OECD countries

Weak UK consumer spending is denting business mood, says CBI

Employers lobby group says business activity is falling with most firms expecting worse to come