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Great British PAC

IMF warns against blanket subsidies ahead of Healey's first Budget

The International Monetary Fund has cautioned against blanket cost-of-living subsidies before John Healey's first Budget on 28 October, saying support should be targeted and temporary and that an urgent need to cut borrowing means help must be used "sparingly". It raised its forecast for UK growth in 2026 to 1.3 per cent but lowered its 2027 estimate to 1.2 per cent, citing higher energy prices and long-term interest rates. Andy Burnham's government has already cut VAT on household electricity at a Budget cost of £850 million and restored a £2 bus fare cap in England.

Vicky Richter · 14 October 2026
Opinion

Luke Pollard rules out investing in Rough gas storage as Centrica seeks cap and floor support

Luke Pollard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has "deep pockets" and that the future of the Rough facility is "a very clear commercial decision for the company". Centrica is seeking a cap-and-floor mechanism to unlock £2bn of investment in the North Sea site, which supplies about half of the UK's gas storage capacity. No formal decision has been taken, and the energy department has not published the full response to its consultation that would determine whether storage operators receive support.

Vicky Richter · 14 October 2026

Farmers told to secure 75% of fertiliser before UK carbon tax hits imports in January 2027

Britain's largest crop input supplier is telling growers to have three quarters of their fertiliser bought before 31 December, because a UK tax on imported fertiliser comes into force on 1 January 2027. With domestic ammonia production closed and the precise cost impact for growers still uncertain, the industry is racing to move product onto farms before the charge takes effect.

Vicky Richter · 14 October 2026
Opinion

Labour delays new child rape offences carrying life sentences

Rape charges carrying a life maximum already exist for cases where prosecutors can disprove consent, but Baroness Casey found cases downgraded where 13 to 15-year-olds were said to have consented. The new offences removing that requirement received royal assent in April yet remain uncommenced, with an impact assessment forecasting 200 to 350 extra prison places at a time when around 4,500 other prisoners are being released early.

Vicky Richter · 13 October 2026

Burnham blames Brexit for Britain's ills. The record points at his predecessors

The Prime Minister told MPs it would be a "dereliction of duty" not to seek closer ties with Brussels. Since Britain left the EU, Conservative and Labour governments have made different choices about how to use the powers returned to Westminster. The record of what they did with them tells a different story.

Vicky Richter · 13 October 2026
Opinion

Burnham claims Russia interfered in the Brexit vote

The Prime Minister says he received a "clear answer" that Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum, but has not published the evidence. A Foreign Office minister has since insisted that Russian attempts to influence the vote were unsuccessful.

Vicky Richter · 12 October 2026

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