The Bank of England announced a rate hike despite ongoing uncertainty over the future of the U.K. economy. The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously for an increase in rates from 0.5 to 0.75% on the back of a strong labor market and credit growth.
Prime Minister Theresa May is to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, Downing Street says. Mrs. May has been invited to Mr. Macron's holiday retreat in the south of France. It comes as the UK government steps up its engagement with counterparts in the EU over Brexit.
Downing Street has insisted the UK Government is engaged in “good planning” and taking “sensible precautions” in case there is a no-deal Brexit. Asked if Theresa May would continue to lead the country if her negotiations fail and the UK is plunged into a no-deal scenario, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said she is “fully committed to delivering on the will of the British people”.
Last year was the fifth warmest for the UK in records dating back more than a century, the Met Office has confirmed. Figures show the UK climate is warming, with average temperatures over the last decade around 0.8C above the 1961 to 1990 average, while the country has also seen 8% more rain and 6% more sunshine.
Britain's Education Secretary Damian Hinds says it is a scandal that some children still start school unable to speak in full sentences or read simple words. Children who start school behind their peers rarely catch up - the gap just widens, Hinds will say in a speech pledging halve the number of pupils starting school behind in early talking and reading skills by 2028.
The UK government must rethink devolution as a result of Brexit, a group of MPs have recommended. The process of leaving the EU has sparked a series of clashes between UK government ministers and their counterparts in Scotland and Wales.
Fake news has plunged democracy into crisis with voters being systematically manipulated by campaigns of hate and disinformation, a Commons committee has warned. In a blistering attack, MPs rounded on tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, for acting “irresponsibly” over data collection and called for new laws to make them accountable for the content on their sites.
The proportion of voters who favor a referendum on the final terms of any Brexit deal has overtaken those who do not for the first time, while UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s approval ratings have plunged, according to opinion polls.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is to hold Brexit talks with the Austrian chancellor this Friday before heading off on her summer holiday in Italy and Switzerland. Mrs. May will also attend a music festival in Salzburg as a guest of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
The United Kingdom Government published on Tuesday its latest paper on Brexit entitled “Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union”.Chapter 1/11 refers to Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories and states the UK government “will continue to engage and keep these jurisdictions informed as the Bill is developed”.