Tag: British Government

LIVE: Trump and Starmer sign tech deal before holding private talks on tariffs and war

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President Donald Trump on Thursday signed what he called a historic agreement on science and technology with Britain as United Kingdom officials who have gone all out to impress him with royal pageantry during his state visit now try to deliver key trade and business deals that can further their country’s interests.Watch a livestream of a press conference between Trump and Starmer in the video player above.Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a roundtable with business leaders as they signed the deal. They also had private meetings where the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tariff rates the U.S. may set on steel imported from Britain were expected to be discussed. A joint news conference was coming up.At the signing ceremony for an agreement meant to promote tech investment in both nations, Starmer referred to the American president as “my friend, our friend” and spoke of “leaders who respect each other and leaders who genuinely like each other.” The event took place at Chequers, a 16th-century manor house northwest of London that serves as a rural retreat for British leaders.The British charm offensive continued after King Charles III and Queen Camilla had feted Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle, on Wednesday. The royals used the first of the Trump’s two-day state visit to offer all the pomp the monarchy can muster: gold-trimmed carriages, scarlet-clad soldiers, artillery salutes, a glittering banquet in a grand ceremonial hall and the biggest military honor guard ever assembled for such a state visit.Trump has seemed grateful for all the attention — so much so that he has largely stuck to script and offered little of his typical off-the-cuff criticism of hosts.Still, he had his moments. Trump joked with his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, as he signed the tech deal, “Should I sign this Howard? Scott? If the deal’s no good I’m blaming you.”After bidding goodbye to the king and queen at Windsor — Trump called the monarch “a great gentleman, and a great king” — the Trumps flew by helicopter some 20 miles (32 kilometers) to Chequers. The Republican president was welcomed by ceremonial honor guard complete with bagpipers — a nod to Trump’s Scottish heritage — and shown items from the archive of wartime leader Winston Churchill, who coined the term “special relationship” for the bond between the allies.It’s a point that Trump’s British hosts have stressed, almost 250 years after that relationship endured a rocky start in 1776.Trump told business leaders at a reception at Chequers that the two countries shared an “unbreakable bond.” Starmer said that relationship “is the very foundation of our security, our freedom and our prosperity.”Trans-Atlantic tech partnershipTo coincide with the visit, Britain said U.S. companies had pledged 150 billion pounds ($204 billion) in investment in the U.K, including 90 billion pounds ($122 billion) from investment firm Blackstone in the next decade. Investment will also flow the other way, including almost $30 billion by pharmaceutical firm GSK in the U.S.At the reception, attended by tech bosses including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. officials such as Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Starmer said it was “the biggest investment package of its kind in British history by a country mile.”U.K. officials say the deal will bring thousands of jobs and billions in investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear energy. It includes a U.K. arm of Stargate, a Trump-backed AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, and a host of AI data centers around the U.K. American companies are announcing 31 billion pounds ($42 billion) in investment in the U.K.’s AI sector, including $30 billion from Microsoft for protects including Britain’s largest supercomputer.British officials say they have not agreed to scrap a digital services tax or water down internet regulation to get the deal, some details of which have yet to be announced.The British government is learning that when it comes to deals with Trump’s team, the devil is in the details. In May, Starmer and Trump struck a trade agreement that reduced U.S. tariffs on Britain’s key auto and aerospace industries.But talks on slashing duties on steel and aluminum to zero from their current level of 25% have stalled, despite a promise in May that the issue would be settled within weeks.The British Chambers of Commerce said failure to cut the tariffs would be “greeted with dismay” by the British steel industry.Difficult discussions on Ukraine, Middle EastIn the private talks, difficult conversations were expected about Ukraine and the Middle East.The British government has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians, calling Israel’s latest Gaza City offensive “utterly reckless and appalling.” Starmer has said the U.K. will formally recognize a Palestinian state this month, potentially within days. Trump has threatened to penalize Canada during trade negotiations for making a similar move.Starmer also has played a major part in European efforts to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine. Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia for shunning peace negotiations. On Tuesday, Trump appeared to put the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying, “He’s going to have to make a deal.”The king gave Trump a gentle nudge in his state banquet speech on the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Charles noted that “as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”Potentially awkward Epstein questionsStarmer will be bracing for awkward questions from the media about Jeffrey Epstein. Days before the state visit, Starmer fired Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, over the envoy’s past friendship with the convicted sex offender, who authorities say killed himself in 2019.Fourteen months after winning a landslide election victory, Starmer’s government is struggling to kickstart Britain’s sluggish economy and his Labour Party is lagging in the polls. Starmer wants a successful state visit to balance weeks of bad news.Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said Trump’s trip was likely to be “a difficult visit for the prime minister, much more so than for the U.S. president.”For Trump, “this plays well at home, it plays well abroad. It’s almost entirely to President Trump’s advantage to turn up to Britain and be celebrated by the British establishment,” she said.

AYLESBURY, England —

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed what he called a historic agreement on science and technology with Britain as United Kingdom officials who have gone all out to impress him with royal pageantry during his state visit now try to deliver key trade and business deals that can further their country’s interests.

Watch a livestream of a press conference between Trump and Starmer in the video player above.

Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a roundtable with business leaders as they signed the deal. They also had private meetings where the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tariff rates the U.S. may set on steel imported from Britain were expected to be discussed. A joint news conference was coming up.

At the signing ceremony for an agreement meant to promote tech investment in both nations, Starmer referred to the American president as “my friend, our friend” and spoke of “leaders who respect each other and leaders who genuinely like each other.” The event took place at Chequers, a 16th-century manor house northwest of London that serves as a rural retreat for British leaders.

The British charm offensive continued after King Charles III and Queen Camilla had feted Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle, on Wednesday. The royals used the first of the Trump’s two-day state visit to offer all the pomp the monarchy can muster: gold-trimmed carriages, scarlet-clad soldiers, artillery salutes, a glittering banquet in a grand ceremonial hall and the biggest military honor guard ever assembled for such a state visit.

Trump has seemed grateful for all the attention — so much so that he has largely stuck to script and offered little of his typical off-the-cuff criticism of hosts.

Still, he had his moments. Trump joked with his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, as he signed the tech deal, “Should I sign this Howard? Scott? If the deal’s no good I’m blaming you.”

After bidding goodbye to the king and queen at Windsor — Trump called the monarch “a great gentleman, and a great king” — the Trumps flew by helicopter some 20 miles (32 kilometers) to Chequers. The Republican president was welcomed by ceremonial honor guard complete with bagpipers — a nod to Trump’s Scottish heritage — and shown items from the archive of wartime leader Winston Churchill, who coined the term “special relationship” for the bond between the allies.

It’s a point that Trump’s British hosts have stressed, almost 250 years after that relationship endured a rocky start in 1776.

Trump told business leaders at a reception at Chequers that the two countries shared an “unbreakable bond.” Starmer said that relationship “is the very foundation of our security, our freedom and our prosperity.”

Trans-Atlantic tech partnership

To coincide with the visit, Britain said U.S. companies had pledged 150 billion pounds ($204 billion) in investment in the U.K, including 90 billion pounds ($122 billion) from investment firm Blackstone in the next decade. Investment will also flow the other way, including almost $30 billion by pharmaceutical firm GSK in the U.S.

At the reception, attended by tech bosses including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. officials such as Lutnick and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Starmer said it was “the biggest investment package of its kind in British history by a country mile.”

U.K. officials say the deal will bring thousands of jobs and billions in investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear energy. It includes a U.K. arm of Stargate, a Trump-backed AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, and a host of AI data centers around the U.K. American companies are announcing 31 billion pounds ($42 billion) in investment in the U.K.’s AI sector, including $30 billion from Microsoft for protects including Britain’s largest supercomputer.

British officials say they have not agreed to scrap a digital services tax or water down internet regulation to get the deal, some details of which have yet to be announced.

The British government is learning that when it comes to deals with Trump’s team, the devil is in the details. In May, Starmer and Trump struck a trade agreement that reduced U.S. tariffs on Britain’s key auto and aerospace industries.

But talks on slashing duties on steel and aluminum to zero from their current level of 25% have stalled, despite a promise in May that the issue would be settled within weeks.

The British Chambers of Commerce said failure to cut the tariffs would be “greeted with dismay” by the British steel industry.

Difficult discussions on Ukraine, Middle East

In the private talks, difficult conversations were expected about Ukraine and the Middle East.

The British government has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians, calling Israel’s latest Gaza City offensive “utterly reckless and appalling.” Starmer has said the U.K. will formally recognize a Palestinian state this month, potentially within days. Trump has threatened to penalize Canada during trade negotiations for making a similar move.

Starmer also has played a major part in European efforts to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine. Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia for shunning peace negotiations. On Tuesday, Trump appeared to put the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying, “He’s going to have to make a deal.”

The king gave Trump a gentle nudge in his state banquet speech on the strength of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Charles noted that “as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”

Potentially awkward Epstein questions

Starmer will be bracing for awkward questions from the media about Jeffrey Epstein. Days before the state visit, Starmer fired Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, over the envoy’s past friendship with the convicted sex offender, who authorities say killed himself in 2019.

Fourteen months after winning a landslide election victory, Starmer’s government is struggling to kickstart Britain’s sluggish economy and his Labour Party is lagging in the polls. Starmer wants a successful state visit to balance weeks of bad news.

Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said Trump’s trip was likely to be “a difficult visit for the prime minister, much more so than for the U.S. president.”

For Trump, “this plays well at home, it plays well abroad. It’s almost entirely to President Trump’s advantage to turn up to Britain and be celebrated by the British establishment,” she said.

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September 18, 2025
Trump heads to a UK state visit where trade and tech talks will mix with royal pomp

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President Donald Trump will arrive in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a state visit during which the British government hopes a multibillion-dollar technology deal will show the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of the Western alliance.State visits in Britain blend 21st-century diplomacy with royal pageantry. Trump’s two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle — all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor.King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday before talks the next day with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.Starmer’s office said the visit will demonstrate that “the U.K.-U.S. relationship is the strongest in the world, built on 250 years of history” — after that awkward rupture in 1776 — and bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets.” There was no mention of Trump’s market-crimping fondness for sweeping tariffs.The White House expects the two countries will strengthen their relationship during the trip and celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was unclear how the U.K. was planning to mark that chapter in their shared history.“The trip to the U.K. is going to be incredible,” Trump told reporters Sunday. He said Windsor Castle is “supposed to be amazing” and added: “It’s going to be very exciting.”Trump’s second state visitTrump is the first U.S. president to get a second state visit to the U.K.The unprecedented nature of the invitation, along with the expectation of lavish pomp and pageantry, holds dual appeal to Trump. The president has glowingly praised the king’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and spoken about how his own Scotland-born mother loved the queen and the monarchy.Trump, as he left the White House on Tuesday, noted that during his past state visit he was hosted at Buckingham Palace.“I don’t want to say one is better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate,” Trump said.He also called the king “an elegant gentleman” and said “he represents the country so well.”The president is also royally flattered by exceptional attention and has embraced the grandeur of his office in his second term. He has adorned the normally more austere Oval Office with gold accents, is constructing an expansive ballroom at the White House and has sought to refurbish other Washington buildings to his liking.Foreign officials have shown they’re attuned to his tastes. During a visit to the Middle East this year, leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar didn’t just roll out a red carpet but dispatched fighter jets to escort Trump’s plane.Starmer has already shown he’s adept at charming Trump. Visiting Washington in February, he noted the president’s Oval Office decorating choices and decision to display a bust of Winston Churchill. During Trump’s private trip to Scotland in July, Starmer visited and praised Trump’s golf courses.Efforts to woo the president make some members of Starmer’s Labour Party uneasy, and Trump will not address Parliament during his visit, like French President Emmanuel Macron did in July. Lawmakers will be on their annual autumn recess, sparing the government an awkward decision.The itinerary in Windsor and at Chequers, both well outside London, also keeps Trump away from a planned mass protest against his visit.“This visit is really important to Keir Starmer to show that he’s a statesman,” said Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “But it’s such a double-edged sword, because he’s going to be a statesman alongside a U.S. president that is not popular in Europe.”Troubles for StarmerPreparations for the visit have been ruffled by political turmoil in Starmer’s center-left government. Last week, Starmer sacked Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Mandelson had good relations with the Trump administration and played a key role in securing a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement in May. His firing has put Epstein back in British headlines as Trump tries to swerve questions about his own relationship with the disgraced financier.Mandelson’s exit came just a week after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner quit over a tax error on a home purchase. A senior Starmer aide, Paul Ovenden quit Monday over tasteless text messages he sent years ago. Fourteen months after winning a landslide election victory, Starmer’s position at the helm of the Labour Party is fragile and his poll ratings are in the dumps.But he has found a somewhat unexpected supporter in Trump, who has said Starmer is a friend, despite being “slightly more liberal than I am.”Starmer’s government has cultivated that warmth and tried to use it to get favorable trade terms with the U.S., the U.K.’s largest single economic partner, accounting for 18% of total British trade.The May trade agreement reduces U.S. tariffs on Britain’s key auto and aerospace industries. But a final deal has not been reached over other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminum.As he left the White House on Tuesday, Trump said U.K. officials wanted to continue trade negotiations during his visit.“They’d like to see if they can get a little bit better deal, so we’ll talk to them” he said.Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are expected to be among the business leaders in the U.S. delegation. Trump and Starmer are set to sign a technology partnership – which Mandelson was key to striking – accompanied by major investments in nuclear power, life sciences and Artificial Intelligence data centers.The leaders are also expected to sign nuclear energy deals, expand cooperation on defense technology and explore ways to bolster ties between their financial hubs, according to the White House official.Ukraine on the agendaStarmer has also tried to use his influence to maintain U.S. support for Ukraine, with limited results. Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia for shunning peace negotiations.Last week’s Russian drone incursion into NATO member Poland drew strong condemnation from European NATO allies, and pledges of more planes and troops for the bloc’s eastern flank. Trump played down the incident’s severity, musing that it “ could have been a mistake.”Starmer also departs from Trump over Israel’s war in Gaza, and has said the U.K. will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month.Vinjamuri said Starmer “has kept the United States speaking the right language” on Ukraine, but has had little impact on Trump’s actions.“On China, on India, on Israel and Gaza and Hamas, and on Vladimir Putin – on the really big important things – the U.K. hasn’t had a huge amount of influence,” she said.

LONDON —

President Donald Trump will arrive in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a state visit during which the British government hopes a multibillion-dollar technology deal will show the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of the Western alliance.

State visits in Britain blend 21st-century diplomacy with royal pageantry. Trump’s two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle — all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor.

King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday before talks the next day with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.

Starmer’s office said the visit will demonstrate that “the U.K.-U.S. relationship is the strongest in the world, built on 250 years of history” — after that awkward rupture in 1776 — and bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets.” There was no mention of Trump’s market-crimping fondness for sweeping tariffs.

The White House expects the two countries will strengthen their relationship during the trip and celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was unclear how the U.K. was planning to mark that chapter in their shared history.

“The trip to the U.K. is going to be incredible,” Trump told reporters Sunday. He said Windsor Castle is “supposed to be amazing” and added: “It’s going to be very exciting.”

Trump’s second state visit

Trump is the first U.S. president to get a second state visit to the U.K.

The unprecedented nature of the invitation, along with the expectation of lavish pomp and pageantry, holds dual appeal to Trump. The president has glowingly praised the king’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and spoken about how his own Scotland-born mother loved the queen and the monarchy.

Trump, as he left the White House on Tuesday, noted that during his past state visit he was hosted at Buckingham Palace.

“I don’t want to say one is better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate,” Trump said.

He also called the king “an elegant gentleman” and said “he represents the country so well.”

The president is also royally flattered by exceptional attention and has embraced the grandeur of his office in his second term. He has adorned the normally more austere Oval Office with gold accents, is constructing an expansive ballroom at the White House and has sought to refurbish other Washington buildings to his liking.

Foreign officials have shown they’re attuned to his tastes. During a visit to the Middle East this year, leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar didn’t just roll out a red carpet but dispatched fighter jets to escort Trump’s plane.

Starmer has already shown he’s adept at charming Trump. Visiting Washington in February, he noted the president’s Oval Office decorating choices and decision to display a bust of Winston Churchill. During Trump’s private trip to Scotland in July, Starmer visited and praised Trump’s golf courses.

Efforts to woo the president make some members of Starmer’s Labour Party uneasy, and Trump will not address Parliament during his visit, like French President Emmanuel Macron did in July. Lawmakers will be on their annual autumn recess, sparing the government an awkward decision.

The itinerary in Windsor and at Chequers, both well outside London, also keeps Trump away from a planned mass protest against his visit.

“This visit is really important to Keir Starmer to show that he’s a statesman,” said Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “But it’s such a double-edged sword, because he’s going to be a statesman alongside a U.S. president that is not popular in Europe.”

Troubles for Starmer

Preparations for the visit have been ruffled by political turmoil in Starmer’s center-left government. Last week, Starmer sacked Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson had good relations with the Trump administration and played a key role in securing a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement in May. His firing has put Epstein back in British headlines as Trump tries to swerve questions about his own relationship with the disgraced financier.

Mandelson’s exit came just a week after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner quit over a tax error on a home purchase. A senior Starmer aide, Paul Ovenden quit Monday over tasteless text messages he sent years ago. Fourteen months after winning a landslide election victory, Starmer’s position at the helm of the Labour Party is fragile and his poll ratings are in the dumps.

But he has found a somewhat unexpected supporter in Trump, who has said Starmer is a friend, despite being “slightly more liberal than I am.”

Starmer’s government has cultivated that warmth and tried to use it to get favorable trade terms with the U.S., the U.K.’s largest single economic partner, accounting for 18% of total British trade.

The May trade agreement reduces U.S. tariffs on Britain’s key auto and aerospace industries. But a final deal has not been reached over other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminum.

As he left the White House on Tuesday, Trump said U.K. officials wanted to continue trade negotiations during his visit.

“They’d like to see if they can get a little bit better deal, so we’ll talk to them” he said.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are expected to be among the business leaders in the U.S. delegation. Trump and Starmer are set to sign a technology partnership – which Mandelson was key to striking – accompanied by major investments in nuclear power, life sciences and Artificial Intelligence data centers.

The leaders are also expected to sign nuclear energy deals, expand cooperation on defense technology and explore ways to bolster ties between their financial hubs, according to the White House official.

Ukraine on the agenda

Starmer has also tried to use his influence to maintain U.S. support for Ukraine, with limited results. Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia for shunning peace negotiations.

Last week’s Russian drone incursion into NATO member Poland drew strong condemnation from European NATO allies, and pledges of more planes and troops for the bloc’s eastern flank. Trump played down the incident’s severity, musing that it “ could have been a mistake.”

Starmer also departs from Trump over Israel’s war in Gaza, and has said the U.K. will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month.

Vinjamuri said Starmer “has kept the United States speaking the right language” on Ukraine, but has had little impact on Trump’s actions.

“On China, on India, on Israel and Gaza and Hamas, and on Vladimir Putin – on the really big important things – the U.K. hasn’t had a huge amount of influence,” she said.

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September 16, 2025
UK PM Rishi Sunak suffers two historic by-election defeats as Labour opposition surges

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Labour party candidate Sarah Edwards, centre, after polls closed in the Tamworth by-election on October 20, 2023 in Tamworth, England.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party suffered two historic by-election defeats on Thursday, with the main opposition Labour Party overturning huge majorities to win both seats.

The two constituencies, Mid Bedfordshire in southern England and Tamworth in the West Midlands, were among the safest Conservative parliamentary seats in the country before Thursday’s polls.

Labour overcame a 24,664 majority to win Mid Bedfordshire for the first time since the constituency’s inception in 1931 in a 20.5% swing. In the process, it pulled off the largest Conservative numerical majority overturned in the U.K. by the main opposition party since 1945.

In Tamworth, held by the Conservatives since 2010, the 23.9-point swing from Conservative to Labour represented the second-largest percentage overturn of its kind in the U.K. since 1945. The opposition party took on what was a 66% Conservative majority at the 2019 General Election.

Labour Leader Keir Starmer told the BBC Breakfast on Friday that his party was “redrawing the political map” and that the victories show that voters “overwhelmingly want change.”

Conservative Party Chairman Greg Hands told the same program that the results were “disappointing” and “a number of our voters are unhappy with the government,” adding that the Conservatives “have a job to do to win them back.”

The two seats became vacant after the resignations of two high-profile Conservative Members of Parliament.

Tamworth was vacated by former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher after he lost an appeal against a proposed suspension from the House of Commons over allegations that he drunkenly groped two men. Pincher denied the allegations and appealed the suspension, but the motion was upheld.

The handling of Pincher’s case by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson triggered the wave of high level government resignations that ultimately led to Johnson’s ousting from 10 Downing Street last year.

The Mid Bedfordshire seat became available after former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries resigned once she was not awarded a lifetime seat in the House of Lords in Johnson’s resignation honors list.

Dorries will be replaced by Labour’s Alistair Strathern, who said the victory was “only possible because the Labour Party has changed.”

“Under new leadership, we’ve moved to where the country is, and to where Mid Bedfordshire is,” he added.

Tamworth’s new MP is Labour’s Sarah Edwards, who said the result signified that voters think it is “time for change,” and urged Sunak to call a General Election.

The U.K. will have to hold a General Election before the end of January 2025, but Sunak’s Conservatives currently trail Labour by at least 20 points in most national polling. The two results of Thursday will further deepen the ruling party’s fear of an electoral wipe-out.

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October 20, 2023
Mortgage catastrophe brews in Britain as millions are pushed toward insolvency

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U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded shortly after the BOE’s rate hike that the government’s mission to halve inflation to 5% by the end of the year had recently become more difficult.

Wpa Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

There is intensifying pressure on Britain’s government to do more to help struggling households, with the country’s shadow finance minister warning of a “mortgage catastrophe” as millions are pushed to the brink of insolvency.

The Bank of England last week hiked interest rates by 50 basis points to 5%, a bigger increase than many had expected. The BOE’s 13th consecutive rate rise takes the base rate to the highest level since 2008.

The surprise move — which is designed to lower inflation — will affect millions of homeowners as the interest rates on many mortgages in the U.K. are directly linked to the central bank’s base rate. Renters, too, are likely to see their payments increase as buy-to-let landlords pass on higher mortgage repayments.

Research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a leading independent think tank, estimated that the BOE’s latest interest rate hike would see 1.2 million U.K. households (4% of households nationwide) run out of savings by the end of the year because of higher mortgage repayments.

That would take the proportion of insolvent households to nearly 30% (roughly 7.8 million), NIESR said last week, with the largest impact set to be incurred in Wales and the northeast of England.

“The rise in interest rates to 5% will push millions of households with mortgages towards the brink of insolvency,” said Max Mosley, an economist at NIESR. “No lender would expect a household to withstand a shock of this magnitude, so the government shouldn’t either.”

Credit scores and grace periods

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Friday met with major banks and building societies to discuss the deepening mortgage crisis in the country.

Hunt said Friday that three measures had been agreed with the banks, mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority, including a temporary change to mortgage terms and a promise that consumers’ credit scores would not be affected by discussions with their lender.

The minister also said that for those at risk of losing their home, lenders agreed to a 12-month grace period before there’s a repossession without consent.

The Resolution Foundation says current market pricing suggests that households remortgaging in 2024 are poised for an annual mortgage bill rise of approximately £3,000 ($3,813) or more on average.

Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

“These measures should offer comfort to those who are anxious about high interest rates and support for those who do get into difficulty,” Hunt said.

“We won’t flinch in our resolve because we know that getting rid of high inflation from our economy is the only way that we can ultimately relieve pressure on family finances and on businesses,” he added.

Rachel Reeves, shadow finance minister for the opposition Labour Party, criticized what she described as the government’s “chaotic approach” to the mortgage crisis.

“Unlike this government, Labour will not stand by as millions face a mortgage catastrophe made by the Tories in Downing Street,” Reeves said via Twitter on Thursday.

There’s a lot of mortgage pain coming, and much of it will arrive during the run-up to a 2024 election.

Torsten Bell

Chief executive of the Resolution Foundation

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded shortly after the BOE’s rate hike that the government’s mission to halve inflation to 5% by the end of the year had become more difficult.

“I always said this would be hard — and clearly it’s got harder over the past few months — but it’s important that we do do that,” Sunak said Thursday at The Times CEO summit.

“The government is going to remain steadfast in its course and stick to its plan,” he added.

‘There’s a lot of mortgage pain coming’

BOE Governor Andrew Bailey said Thursday’s interest rate rise was necessary to continue the fight against stubbornly high inflation.

Official figures published ahead of the BOE’s meeting showed annual inflation rose by 8.7% in May, exceeding expectations. It means consumer prices remain at a level far above the BOE’s 2% target.

“We know this is hard — many people with mortgages or loans will be understandably worried about what this means for them,” Bailey said. “But if we don’t raise rates now, it could be worse later.”

The Resolution Foundation, a think tank focused on issues facing low- and middle-income households, has since warned that even with the latest rate rise, the problems for borrowers are far from over.

It says current market pricing suggests that households remortgaging in 2024 are poised for an annual mortgage bill rise of approximately £3,000 ($3,813) or more on average.

“There’s a lot of mortgage pain coming, and much of it will arrive during the run-up to a 2024 election,” said Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation.

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June 26, 2023
UK Labour leader Starmer slams PM’s Davos no-show, touts new ‘inverse OPEC’ alliance

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DAVOS, Switzerland – Jan. 19, 2023: Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, during a CNBC panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for opting not to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

On a CNBC-moderated panel in Davos, Starmer said he had been meeting with business leaders and policymakers to promote the idea of a Clean Power Alliance should Labour win the next general election in 2024.

The international body, which Starmer characterized as an “inverse OPEC,” would seek to address the joint economic challenges of climate change, renewable energy job creation and household energy costs.

“I think our prime minister should have showed up — I absolutely do. One of the things that has been impressed on me since I’ve been here is the absence of the United Kingdom,” Starmer told the panel.

“That’s why I think it’s really important that I’m here and that our Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is here, as a statement of intent that should there be a change of government, and I hope there will be, the United Kingdom will play its part on the global stage in a way I think it probably hasn’t in recent years.”

Sunak was not the only world leader to skip the summit, with U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and new Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also absent.

British Business and Energy Minister Grant Shapps is in the Swiss Alps in Sunak’s absence, and told CNBC on Thursday that it was appropriate that he attend, as his role in government is to secure business investment and jobs for the U.K.

“[Sunak] may well come another year, but right now in the midst of the energy crisis caused by Ukraine being invaded by Putin, with all of the trauma that we’ve gone through with Covid and much else, he is at home focusing — as a brand new prime minister, by the way, two or three months into the job — on the domestic priorities,” Shapps said.

“I’m here because I’m actually, technically, if you like, the right person to have in Davos.”

Sunak spent Thursday on a visit to Morecambe in the northwest of England as part of a series of trips to promote his government’s “leveling up” funding.

‘Inverse OPEC’

Labour holds a massive polling lead over Sunak’s ruling Conservative Party ahead of the next general election slated for 2024. The latest Ipsos voting intention poll published this week gave Labour a 26 point lead with a 49% share of the vote to the Conservatives’ 23%.

Starmer vowed that in the event that Labour does take power in Westminster in 2024, his government would work with the private sector in the U.K., where renewable energy contracts are estimated at nine times cheaper than oil and gas, to unlock employment and innovation opportunities.

“The prize here is huge in terms of energy security and that shouldn’t be something which is national. It’s in all of our interests to have energy security, it’s in all of our interests to make sure that Putin can’t weaponize energy across the world, whether it’s now or any time in the future,” Starmer said.

“There’s an element of course of each country trying to rise to this challenge themselves but there is also this element of mutual cooperation in this in relation to the mutual threats that we are facing, and that’s why I’m very keen to develop this idea of Clean Power Alliance, which is an inverse OPEC in the sense that the purpose is to drive down those prices across the globe.”

OPEC, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a permanent intergovernmental alliance of 13 major oil producing nations that negotiate adjustments in their respective production in order to retain stability in global oil prices.

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January 19, 2023
A timeline of what happens next following UK PM Liz Truss’ resignation

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On resigning after just 45 days in office, Truss becomes Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister in history and the third Conservative Party leader to be toppled in as many years

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LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after just 44 days in office, firing the starting gun on yet another Conservative Party leadership contest.

It means Truss becomes Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister in history and the third Conservative leader to quit in as many years. Her resignation kickstarts the search for a new leader at a time when the country faces a worsening cost-of-living crisis and a looming economic recession.

Her short speech Thursday confirmed she no longer felt she had the authority to govern after a failed tax-cutting budget that rocked financial markets and led to a rebellion in her political party.

What happens now?

The race to find Truss’ replacement is already well underway.

Graham Brady, the Conservative politician who oversees leadership votes and reshuffles, outlined on Thursday how the fast-tracked leadership election will proceed this time around.

Brady said he hoped the process would be concluded by Oct. 28, but the result could come much sooner than that — potentially as early as Monday evening.

Candidates vying to succeed Truss as prime minister have until 2 p.m. London time on Monday to gather the support of at least 100 Conservative Members of Parliament to run. It is a particularly high bar of nominations for a party composed of 357 MPs and caps the number of candidates able to contest for the leadership to a maximum of three.

Brady said nominations could be accepted via signature or by email and the ballots would be conducted as necessary thereafter. He told reporters that MPs will have the chance to hear from the nominated candidates at a hustings on Monday afternoon, although these will be held behind closed doors.

Graham Brady, U.K. lawmaker and chairman of the 1922 Committee, speaks to the media outside the Houses of Parliament in London, UK, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.

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If only one candidate receives 100 nominations on Monday, they will become the next leader of the party and the new prime minister.

If there are two candidates with 100 nominations, an indicative ballot will be held on Monday afternoon to show the level of support each has in the party. It is thought that the candidate with the fewest number of votes may step down at this stage to avoid an online ballot among the party membership.

And if there are three candidates in the running on Monday, the one with the fewest number of votes from MPs will be eliminated in results announced at 6 p.m. London time. An indicative ballot of the two remaining candidates would then follow, with the result announced later that evening.

The race to become Britain’s next prime minister, and the fifth since the Conservatives took power in 2010, has yet not seen anyone announce their intention to run for office.

Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Conservative Party Chairman Jake Berry said Thursday it had been agreed that should the party put forward two candidates, there would be an “expedited, binding online vote of Conservative Party members.”

In this scenario, Conservative members would take part in an online vote to choose the next leader of the party.

The ballot will close at 11 a.m. London time on Oct. 28 and the winner will be declared later that day.

Who’s in the running?

The race to become Britain’s next prime minister, and the fifth since the Conservatives took power in 2010, has yet not seen anyone announce their intention to run for office.

However, it is thought former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt and — despite being ousted from office just three months ago — former Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be among the main contenders.

What happens after the winner is declared?

Once the winner of the leadership contest has been declared, Britain’s King Charles will then ask them to form a government, making them the next prime minister in the process.

Thereafter, the new prime minister will not have long to prepare before the scheduled medium-term fiscal plan announcement on Oct. 31.

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October 21, 2022
Britain’s political scene is in absolute chaos — right at the worst possible time. Here’s what you need to know

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Political chaos in the U.K. continues, including a high-profile resignation and questions over how long Liz Truss has in office.

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LONDON — An extraordinary day in British politics plunged embattled Prime Minister Liz Truss into even deeper turmoil.

On a fast-moving day of developments, Wednesday saw a high-profile resignation, reports of parliamentarians being bullied and further speculation over how long Truss may have left.

The culmination of events prompted one member of the Conservative Party to publicly express his anger with the government.

“This is an absolute disgrace,” Conservative lawmaker Charles Walker told BBC News on Wednesday evening. “I think it’s a shambles and a disgrace. It’s utterly appalling,” he said.

“I hope all those people that put Liz Truss in Number 10, I hope it was worth it … Because the damage they have done to our party is extraordinary,” Walker said, visibly angry as he spoke.

“I’ve had enough of talentless people putting their tick in the right box not because it’s in the national interest but because it’s in their own personal interest,” he said.

Here’s a look at how the day unfolded.

Wednesday midday: ‘A fighter not a quitter’

At midday on Wednesday, Truss faced fellow lawmakers in the House of Commons for the first time since a major U-turn on her controversial fiscal package.

The government’s so-called “mini-budget” on Sept. 23 was the first – and last – big fiscal announcement from former Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, who was hastily replaced by Jeremy Hunt following a backlash to the spending plans.

Truss said she was “a fighter not a quitter” as she was grilled by parliamentarians.

Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer asked how the British public could have faith in a leader whose “promises didn’t last a week.”

Truss has apologized for mistakes made during her first six weeks in office.

Wednesday evening: A resignation and bullying accusations

Britain’s Interior Minister Suella Braverman was then added to the list of departures from Truss’ government, as she resigned after just 43 days in the position – the shortest stint in the role since World War II.

In her resignation letter, Braverman said she sent an official document from a personal email – breaching ministerial rules – and that this was the reason for her departure. But she also used the letter to express her “concerns about the direction of this government,” saying that key pledges to voters had been broken.

“Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see that we have made them, and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics. I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign,” Braverman said.

Braverman has been replaced by former Transport Minister Grant Shapps.

Later on Wednesday evening, lawmakers were asked to vote on whether fracking would be completely banned across the U.K., but members of the Conservative Party were told the vote was being treated as a “confidence motion” in Truss’ government.

Members were also told they would “lose the whip” – effectively losing their position in Parliament – if they voted to ban fracking. Unsurprisingly the majority voted not to ban fracking.

The vote itself was chaotic, with reports of members being “bullied” into making the decision favored by the Conservatives.

“That looked like bullying to me. It’s bullying like I’ve not seen since school,” Labour MP Chris Bryant told BBC News.

A government spokesperson was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Thursday morning.

Party whips – those tasked with encouraging members to vote in line with the party consensus – can be quite assertive, Bryant said, but they typically use “the force of reason, not the force of force.”

Thursday morning: Truss has 12 hours to ‘turn the ship around’

Thursday morning saw Conservative MPs trying to explain the events of the night before – and delivering fresh assessments of how long Truss has left in office.

Transport Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan described Wednesday as a “very turbulent day,” speaking on the BBC’s “Breakfast” program, but she defended the prime minister.

“Yes, Liz Truss is our prime minister and she has the confidence of the Cabinet,” Trevelyan said when asked if Truss was the right person to lead the government.

Conservative MP Simon Hoare said the next few hours would be critical for Truss to retain her authority.

He said he had never seen such a growing sense of pessimism across all wings of the party, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program.

“Can the ship be turned around? Yes. But I think there’s about 12 hours to do it,” he said, describing Thursday and Friday as “crunch days” for the prime minister.

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October 20, 2022
UK PM Liz Truss announces another huge U-turn and names Jeremy Hunt as finance minister

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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 14: Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss attends a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room on October 14, 2022 in London, England. After just five weeks in the job, Prime Minister Liz Truss has sacked Chancellor of The Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng after he delivered a mini-budget that plunged the UK economy into crisis. (Photo by Daniel Leal-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday scrapped another key tax-cutting policy after firing her finance minister, in a bid to placate markets after the government’s controversial “mini-budget.”

“It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting,” Truss said in a brief press conference.

Truss scrapped the pledge to reverse predecessor Boris Johnson’s hike of corporation tax from 19% to 25%, a decision estimated to restore around £18 billion ($20.1 billion) to the U.K. Treasury’s coffers by 2026.

Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was fired earlier on Friday after less than six weeks in the job, amid mounting political pressure and market chaos.

Jeremy Hunt — a former health secretary and foreign secretary — was announced as Kwarteng’s successor. Chris Philp, chief secretary to the U.K. Treasury, was also replaced by Edward Argar.

Market reaction

U.K. government bonds — known as gilts — rallied sharply ahead of Truss’ news conference. The long-dated 30-year yield briefly touched 4.261% during morning trade. Yields move inversely to prices.

However, bond prices gave back gains after the conference, with the 30-year yield returning to around 4.58% by around 3 p.m. U.K. time.

Sterling whipsawed during a volatile session and fell around 1.4% against the dollar after Truss’ speech, trading at around $1.1165.

In her press conference, Truss said she wanted to reassure markets of the government’s fiscal discipline, and that Hunt shared her “convictions and ambitions” for the country.

Jeremy Hunt is interviewed for Sophie Raworth’s ‘Sunday Morning’ at BBC Broadcasting House in London.

Tejas Sandhu | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The government earlier this month abolished its plan to scrap the top rate of income tax after a substantial public backlash, but which failed to quell market turbulence.

Although gilt yields rallied in the run up to Truss’ U-turn, Matthew Amis, investment director at Abrdn, said Friday that “the pressure is still for gilt yields to edge higher from here, albeit with less volatility.”

“The Bank of England will still need to hike aggressively in the next few months and the gilt market will still need to absorb extremely high levels of gilt supply (let’s not forget the energy cap measures),” Amis said.

“However with Trussonomics filed away under the heading ‘disaster’, we can hopefully get back to a functioning gilt market.”

So far, roughly half of the original tax-cutting policies set out in Kwarteng’s “mini-budget” have been scrapped. However, the government still plans to go ahead with its medium-term fiscal plan announcement and accompanying independent forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which Hunt will now be tasked with delivering.

Truss characterized the roughly £18 billion saved through the corporation tax U-turn as a “down payment” on that plan and said it would ensure public spending can “grow less rapidly” than previously outlined.

“Market reaction reflected the underwhelming message and delivery. We saw the selloff in sterling intensify and gilt yields retrace their optimistic moves from yesterday and this morning. In short, the announcement, coupled with the withdrawal of support from the BofE has not calmed markets,” said Oliver Faizallah, head of fixed income research at U.K. investment house Charles Stanley.

“The U.K. still has a credibility issue, which has not been helped with today’s events. The pressure is on new chancellor Jeremey Hunt to try and bring some confidence back to the market.”

Kwarteng letter

Kwarteng cut short a visit to Washington on Thursday to fly back to London as government ministers scrambled to address the market chaos unleashed in recent weeks.

This included a sell-off of long-dated government bonds that led the Bank of England to intervene in order to save pension funds from collapse, and a spike in mortgage rates for prospective homeowners.

Truss had been under immense pressure to rethink her economic policies, with opinion polls showing support for the ruling Conservative Party collapsing and lawmakers from within her own party reportedly plotting to oust her after a tumultuous first five weeks in office.

Despite this, both she and Kwarteng had remained publicly resolute in recent days, accusing critics of the government’s radical fiscal plans of being part of an “anti-growth coalition.”

“The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the Growth Plan on 23 September. In response, together with the Bank of England and excellent officials at the Treasury we have responded to those events, and I commend my officials for their dedication,” Kwarteng said in his resignation letter Friday to Truss after being asked to step down.

“As I have said many times in the past few weeks, following the status quo was simply not an option. For too long this country has been dogged by low growth rates and high taxation — and that must still change if this country is to succeed,” Kwarteng added in his letter.

“We have been colleagues and friends for many years. In that time, I have seen your dedication and determination. I believe your vision is the right one. It has been an honour to serve as your first Chancellor.”

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October 14, 2022
British finance minister races back to London as pressure builds for another policy U-turn

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Kwarteng on Monday sought to assuage lingering concerns by bringing forward the date of his plan to balance the government’s finances to Oct. 31.

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LONDON — U.K. Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng cut short his visit to the International Monetary Fund this week, dashing back to London amid reports Prime Minister Liz Truss is considering a U-turn on parts of her government’s market-rocking tax cuts.

Kwarteng told reporters Thursday that he was returning from the U.S. ahead of schedule, without providing further details. Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources, that the finance minister planned to meet with colleagues to work on the government’s medium-term budget plan.

Earlier, Kwarteng insisted that he is “not going anywhere” and that he and Truss would “100%” still be in their jobs next month.

Kwarteng’s abrupt departure from a series of international finance meetings in Washington, D.C. comes amid a growing political backlash against the Conservative government’s proposed tax cuts.

The debt-funded measures, announced on Sept. 23 and estimated to total £43 billion ($48.7 billion), sent financial markets into a tailspin. The British pound plummeted to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, borrowing costs rose sharply and the Bank of England was forced to intervene.

Sky News reported Thursday that discussions were underway in Downing Street over whether to reconsider some of the tax cuts that Kwarteng announced in the government’s so-called “mini-budget.” It is thought changes to corporation tax and dividend tax could be in the cards.

Sterling popped on the news.

The British pound rose by 2% to trade at $1.1319 on Thursday, shrugging off stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data. Sterling was last seen trading down 0.3% at $1.129.

Meanwhile, long-dated U.K. government bonds — known as gilts — rallied on Friday morning, with 30-year yields trading at 4.38%.

Truss is under immense pressure to rethink her economic policies as opinion polls show support for her government has collapsed.

Jacob King | Pa Images | Getty Images

Truss and Kwarteng have repeatedly defended the government’s radical spending plan, insisting the proposals are necessary to stimulate economic growth.

Last week, Kwarteng reversed a plan to scrap the top 45% rate of income tax paid on earnings above £150,000 ($167,646) a year.

Speaking from the U.S. on Thursday, Kwarteng responded to questions about a possible U-turn by saying he is “totally focused on delivering the growth plan.”

However, Truss is under immense pressure to rethink the policies as opinion polls show support for her government has collapsed and investors continue to fret about the potential impact on public finances.

Truss’s official spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday that the government’s position had not changed when asked about reports of a possible U-turn.

‘Let’s wait and see’

Asked by Sky News Friday morning if reversals on some aspects of the government’s mini-budget were possible, U.K. International Trade Minister Greg Hands replied: “Let’s wait and see. You won’t have long to wait for the 31st of October for the chancellor to lay out those plans.”

Hands said both Truss and Kwarteng were “absolutely resolute” on their plans to grow the economy.

“The growth plan [is] the centerpiece, but we’ll have to see some of the detail including a full forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility on the 31st of October.”

Downing Street and the Bank of England have taken steps to try to reassure financial markets throughout the week, albeit with limited success.

Kwarteng on Monday sought to assuage lingering concerns by bringing forward the date of his plan to balance the government’s finances to Oct. 31. The decision was welcomed by the International Monetary Fund. Kwarteng had initially said the government would not offer more details on its fiscal plan until Nov. 23.

The Bank of England on Tuesday announced an extension of its emergency bond-buying operation as the pound fell and borrowing costs soared. It warned that “the prospect of self-reinforcing ‘fire sale’ dynamics pose a material risk to UK financial stability.”

The Bank of England on Tuesday warned that “the prospect of self-reinforcing ‘fire sale’ dynamics pose a material risk to UK financial stability.”

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The intervention marked the second expansion of the Bank’s rescue package in as many days after it increased the limit for its daily gilt purchases on Monday ahead of the planned end of the purchase scheme on Friday.

By the middle of the week, Truss told lawmakers in the House of Commons that she would not be making cuts to public spending to help pay for the government’s tax cuts.

— CNBC’s Elliot Smith contributed to this report.

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October 14, 2022
Jamie Dimon says UK government deserves benefit of the doubt after sparking market turmoil

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Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. says the new U.K. government should be “given the benefit of the doubt.”

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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said new governments “always have issues” and U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss should be “given the benefit of the doubt” following a turbulent first month in office.

“It’ll take time to execute the policies and kind of drive growth and what’s important … [but] there’s a lot of things the U.K. has going for it and proper strategies to get it growing faster … then it can accomplish some of the other objectives it wants to accomplish too,” Dimon told CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum on Monday, speaking at the JPM Techstars conference in London.

“I would like to see the new prime minister, the new chancellor, be successful,” he said.

Dimon’s comments come after a rocky few weeks for Truss’s administration. Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced a raft of fiscal measures in a “mini-budget” on Sept. 23, including unfunded cuts to income tax and canceling a planned increase in corporation tax.

Sterling plummeted and yields on U.K. government bonds, or “gilts,” were sent through the roof and have yet to return to their pre-announcement levels.

The government then opted to reverse the decision to abolish the highest income tax bracket — a 45% rate for those earning more than £150,000 — just 10 days later.

‘Every government should be focusing on growth’

Growth should be an objective for every nation, according to JPMorgan’s Dimon.

“I think every government should be focusing on growth — I would love to hear that out of their mouth every time a president or prime minister speaks,” Dimon said.

“Growth comes from proper tax policies, from proper investment policies, consistency of law … being attractive to foreign investment, being attractive to companies and having strategy around industries,” he said.

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October 10, 2022