https://www.scmp.com/rss/524514/feed The latest news and top stories on Rachel Reeves, the UK’s current Finance Minister, making history as the first woman to hold the position. An economist by background, she previously worked at the Bank of England and held various shadow ministerial roles, including Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. As Finance Minister, she oversees economic policy, the national budget, and public spending, aiming to foster economic growth through stability, reform, and investment. Her approach, termed... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting ⁠on the economic fallout from the ⁠war in Iran on Monday, with Finance Minister Rachel ⁠Reeves and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, the government said. Investors are bracing for another stormy week in financial markets after Iran said it would strike the energy and water systems of Gulf neighbours if US President Donald Trump follows through with a threat to hit Iran’s electricity grid. Britain is watching with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347516/uks-starmer-calls-emergency-meeting-economy-iran-war-risks-mount?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347516/uks-starmer-calls-emergency-meeting-economy-iran-war-risks-mount?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:43:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters The British government is looking to provide “targeted” support for ⁠poorer households to offset the impact of ⁠surging energy costs due to the conflict ⁠in the Middle East, finance minister Rachel Reeves has said. In an interview published on Saturday, Reeves told the Times newspaper the government was looking at options to help those vulnerable to sharp rises in energy prices, especially those who relied on heating oil, but ruled out universal help for all households, saying it would be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346616/uk-eyes-targeted-support-households-amid-rising-energy-costs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346616/uk-eyes-targeted-support-households-amid-rising-energy-costs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 12:35:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused on Monday ‌to heed calls to quit, even by the leader of his party in Scotland, pledging to fight on after his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador plunged his government into ‍crisis. Under pressure over the appointment of a man whose close ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have come into full focus, Starmer has attempted to change the narrative. But a demand from Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, for him to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:26:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Poverty in Britain has deepened, according to a report released on Tuesday, with approximately 6.8 million ‌people now living in “very deep poverty”, the highest level in three ‍decades. “Very deep poverty” refers to households with an after-housing-costs income below 40 per cent of the UK median, amounting to around £16,400 (US$22,446.68) a year for a couple with two young children. The report by Joseph ⁠Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which conducts research aimed at solving poverty in Britain,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341339/very-deep-poverty-britain-hits-worst-level-30-years-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341339/very-deep-poverty-britain-hits-worst-level-30-years-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 04:06:58 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg As Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey talks up his plans to buttress the UK military, doubts over funding and the country’s ability to move fast enough are unsettling the industry and armed forces. Healey in June laid out a 130-page defence review, billing it as the first in a generation that would transform and grow the UK military. He set out plans to rebuild arms stockpiles, expand Britain’s nuclear deterrent and submarine fleet, and invest more heavily in long-range weapons and advanced... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335562/uks-bold-defence-plans-face-doubt-over-funding-security-challenges-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335562/uks-bold-defence-plans-face-doubt-over-funding-security-challenges-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 05:25:46 +0000 Reuters Reuters The head of Britain’s financial watchdog resigned on Monday after his agency last week inadvertently released the key details of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ annual tax-and-spending budget statement ahead of time. Richard Hughes said he wanted to help the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to recover quickly from the lapse which an investigation linked to IT weaknesses and leadership failures. “I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its chair... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334817/head-uk-financial-watchdog-quits-after-early-leak-rachel-reeves-budget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334817/head-uk-financial-watchdog-quits-after-early-leak-rachel-reeves-budget?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 18:40:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Sunday denied she misled the public over official forecasts ahead last week’s budget, saying she had been honest about the need to build up a bigger financial buffer. In a speech on November 4, Reeves appeared to lay the groundwork to break the Labour Party’s promise to voters before the 2024 election and raise income tax rates, citing a “weaker than previously thought” productivity performance. In a letter published on Friday, the head of Britain’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334693/uks-rachel-reeves-says-she-did-not-mislead-public-budget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334693/uks-rachel-reeves-says-she-did-not-mislead-public-budget?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:39:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain’s unpopular centre-left Labour government sought to seize the political narrative on Wednesday with a tax-raising budget that it hopes will boost economic growth by fostering a stable debt outlook, reduce child poverty and ease cost-of-living pressures. But the entire contents of the budget were leaked half an hour before Treasury chief Rachel Reeves delivered the budget statement in the House of Commons, in a sign of the chaos that has engulfed the government during weeks of mixed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334265/uks-reeves-unveils-tax-plan-amid-embarrassing-budget-leak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334265/uks-reeves-unveils-tax-plan-amid-embarrassing-budget-leak?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 13:30:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters British health minister Wes Streeting denied on Wednesday he was plotting to bring down Keir Starmer, after allies of the prime minister briefed newspapers that they feared an attempted coup could come later this month after the budget. Starmer steered his Labour Party to one of the biggest election victories in British history in 2024, but just 16 months later it is languishing in the polls and poised to break one of its main election pledges to increase income taxes for the first time since... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332478/uk-health-secretary-denies-plot-topple-pm-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332478/uk-health-secretary-denies-plot-topple-pm-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:55:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right. Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future. The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:55:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump kicked off his historic second state visit to Britain on Wednesday amid unprecedented pomp, intense security, technology investments and protests as King Charles and other royals welcomed their nation’s closest ally. Trump and his wife Melania are being hosted by the king at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, where he is being treated to the full array of British pageantry from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:18:04 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Indonesia’s “first cat” Bobby Kertanegara is entitled to receive state facilities, a minister has said in response to criticisms after a video of President Prabowo Subianto’s pet being given special treatment went viral. Deputy State Secretary Juri Ardiantoro said that, as Bobby was considered part of the president’s property, the feline was therefore entitled to his security detail. “It’s not just the president, but the president’s property is also the responsibility of the state to be... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3318722/indonesia-first-cat-bobby-kertanegara-gets-presidential-security-detail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3318722/indonesia-first-cat-bobby-kertanegara-gets-presidential-security-detail?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 07:28:33 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg UK living standards are no higher than when Labour swept to power a year ago, highlighting the problems piling up for Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he struggles to contain the rise of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party. Discretionary incomes tumbled 4.2 per cent in April after a wave of bill increases and tax raises, and failed to improve in May – the worst two months for households since the spring of 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices rocketing, according to Retail... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318035/starmers-labour-promised-boost-uk-living-standards-year-not-much-has-changed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318035/starmers-labour-promised-boost-uk-living-standards-year-not-much-has-changed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 07:48:48 +0000