Business

Liz Truss is long gone – but her fiscal meltdown still dictates every step Labour makes | Max Mosley

Published

2 months ago

July 6, 2025

On 6 September 2022, Liz Truss entered No 10 with a clear vision for the country; the country asked her to leave less than 50 days later. But nearly three years on, even though all that remains of her premiership at Downing Street is a portrait she didn’t stick around long enough to see hung, it is she who really runs Britain.

Not through her influence – which has since been reduced to poorly attended speeches at far-right conferences in the US – but through the fear she left behind. Truss may be gone, but what remains is the shadow her failure cast, and the rigid fiscal caution that grew out of it.

Last week’s benefits bill fiasco is a case in point. While all the talk from this government was about getting disabled people into work, they presented no real evidence that siphoning money away from this group will achieve this. The benefit cuts were driven by a rush to find government savings after GDP growth forecasts were lower than expected, threatening the chancellor’s ability to meet her own fiscal rules. If this strikes you as an odd way to make major policy decisions, then you’re not alone.

We’ve ended up in a world where a one percentage point difference in a GDP forecast cascades down into a series of reforms that would have pushed hundreds of thousands into poverty. Why? Because the possibility of not meeting the fiscal rules was apparently spooking the markets.

The chancellor has been consistent with these fiscal rules. She told the Global Borrowers and Bond Investment Forum (ie bond investors, the same people who turned on Liz Truss) that they were essential for underpinning financial stability.

But fiscal rules have become a religion. In this self-imposed straitjacket, governments believe they can only spend if the economy is growing and borrow if the bond markets nod approvingly. These rules weren’t created by Truss, but their new totemic status in British politics was forged in the fire she left behind.

The result? We’ve boxed ourselves into a corner. Our public sector needs money. Growth is flat and threatened by global instability. Interest rates are high. But under these arbitrary rules, we’re left with just two levers: raise taxes or cut spending.

MPs and the public have shown that they are unwilling to tolerate further cuts, seemingly more alive than the government to the fact that they will create further costs in the long run. Who can blame them? The public isn’t irrational. They have seen the state decay after 14 years of cuts; they don’t believe it will be able to stand another round. They have also lived through years of stagnant wages and will be wary of tax rises on the back of already squeezed household budgets.

Plans to means-test the winter fuel payment led to this government being accused of attacking elderly people. Last week, £5bn of rushed and flawed benefit cuts were rightly destroyed through a rebellion from the government’s own MPs.

And while there is a growing consensus about the need to tax wealth fairly, this government so far appears unwilling to make these trade-offs. The closest we have come to anything resembling a bold wealth tax is a fairly meagre change to capital gains tax rates.

And so here we are, being informed that there is a “black hole” in the public finances that must be filled at all costs, yet with no politically acceptable route to make this happen. But there is a third lever that they should consider: rethink the fiscal rules themselves, and with them, our assumptions about debt and growth. Instead, Westminster treats these constraints as sacred.

That’s the legacy of Truss. Her mini-budget may have collapsed in days, but the fear it left behind governs us still. The bond market is now our unofficial second chamber. Every policy is measured against its hypothetical response. It doesn’t matter that the markets themselves aren’t demanding cuts, only that politicians think they might.

We are approaching a fundamental choice: do we continue trying to appease the markets by clinging to a set of self-imposed constraints that block the kind of spending needed to improve living standards and revive growth? Or do we remove those constraints and make the decisions necessary to fix our economy? I know which I’d prefer, not least because public investment can boost growth, raise tax revenues and ease pressure on the national debt over time. The alternative of more austerity risks doing the opposite: choking off growth, weakening the economy and actually making our debt burden harder to manage as a result.

The fear is that markets will punish us for daring to spend. But that fear has become self-defeating. In reality, the financial returns from well-targeted public spending – on infrastructure, childcare, health, skills – are often far higher than our anaemic assumptions allow. The economic returns are bigger, the benefits broader and the risks lower than we have conditioned ourselves to believe. A politics that always talks down the impact of spending ends up justifying stagnation.

That fear is how you end up with a government paralysed by its own Truss trauma, an exhausted politics where every problem is diagnosed but none are treated, because every solution breaks a taboo. And the longer we stay in this holding pattern, the more brittle the state becomes – and the more we’re left asking why nothing ever seems to change.

Until someone finds the courage to govern without flinching, we will remain stuck in this loop, where fear dictates policy, and decline is dressed up as stability. Until then, this is Liz Truss’s UK – we’re all just living in it.

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Business

Start Your AI Agency Launches 90-Day Global AI Training Program to Build Lucrative AI Service Businesses

Published

31 minutes ago

August 31, 2025

Newsfile

Start Your AI Agency, under the leadership of CEO Greg Squibbs, has announced the 90-Day global AI training program that enables individuals to build lucrative, location-independent businesses by using artificial intelligence.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates–(Newsfile Corp. – August 31, 2025) – Start Your AI Agency has launched a 90-Day global AI training program to build lucrative AI service businesses. The company’s core offering is a free training program that introduces the proprietary AI Layering Strategy – a system inspired by proven practices from leading global tech innovators. This model allows entrepreneurs to streamline their outreach, automate service delivery, and operate businesses 24/7 from anywhere in the world without the need for complex software or large teams.

CEO Greg Squibbs

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For digital entrepreneurs looking to launch and scale AI-powered service businesses, Start Your AI Agency 90-Day training program focuses on actionable steps and replicable systems that are accessible to them with no prior experience in AI or coding. By simplifying advanced AI technologies and integrating them into everyday business operations, the program helps to bridge the gap between innovation and execution.

The program supports a wide range of professionals, including freelancers, consultants, and business owners, who are seeking to modernize their services using AI.

Greg Squibbs, a long-time advocate for technological innovation, emphasizes the importance of AI education for long-term success. As he has stated, “Artificial intelligence, automation, team building – if you don’t understand it – learn it. Because otherwise, you’re going to be a dinosaur within three years.”

Furthermore, Start Your AI Agency’s program helps individuals seeking to transition from traditional employment, entrepreneurs aiming to scale digital operations, and professionals interested in integrating automation into their service-based businesses.

About Start Your AI Agency:

Start Your AI Agency is a global training platform dedicated to helping individuals build and scale AI-powered service businesses. Founded with the vision to democratize access to artificial intelligence, the company provides step-by-step training, tools, and automation systems that enable entrepreneurs to launch high-profit, location-independent agencies. With a focus on simplicity, scalability, and real-world application, Start Your AI Agency has become a trusted launchpad for thousands of digital entrepreneurs worldwide. Under the leadership of CEO Greg Squibbs, the company continues to drive innovation and empower the next generation of AI-focused business owners.

For more information, visit at https://www.startyouraiagency.com.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/262414

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Business

Norway signs £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships built in UK | BAE Systems

Published

5 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Mark Sweney

Norway has agreed a £10bn deal for anti-submarine warships that will be built in the UK, as the two countries plan joint operations in northern Europe to deal with increased Russian activity.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the agreement to build Type 26 frigates was the UK’s biggest ever warship export deal by value, and Norway’s biggest defence procurement deal.

It said that overall it would provide a £10bn boost to the UK economy and support 4,000 jobs across the UK “well into the 2030s”.

The Type 26 frigates will be built at the BAE Systems shipyards in the Govan area of Glasgow, which employ 2,000 staff and are already constructing eight of the warships for the Royal Navy.

“This £10bn deal is what our plan for change is about,” said the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. “Creating jobs, driving growth and protecting national security for working people. The export of our world-leading Type 26 frigates will do exactly that, supporting well-paid jobs up and down the United Kingdom, from apprentices to engineers.”

It is estimated that the shipbuilding programme will support 432 businesses, including 103 in Scotland, 47 in the north-west of England and 35 in the West Midlands.

The deal also signals a strengthening of a long-term strategic relationship with Norway, as part of which a combined fleet of 13 frigates will operate jointly in northern Europe.

Eight of the frigates will be British and “at least” five will be Norwegian, with the joint operation designed to “significantly strengthen Nato’s northern flank”.

“This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership,” said John Healey, the defence secretary. “With Norway, we will train, operate, deter and – if necessary – fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the north Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure and keep both our nations secure.”

Concerns over critical infrastructure around Europe have been raised on multiple occasions in the last year, after the alleged sabotage of the Baltic gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia.

Norway was the only other country to participate in the UK carrier strike group’s full deployment this year, and it also collaborates with the UK and Nato partners to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure in northern Europe.

“Norway and the United Kingdom are close allies with common interests and strong bilateral ties,” said Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s prime minister. “I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision.”

The Scottish secretary, Ian Murray, said the decision showed the “tremendous success” of Scotland’s shipbuilding industry and was an example of another “defence dividend” for the country.

The Type 26 frigate features sophisticated weapons, and advanced sensors and communications. Its design enables the warship to be upgraded to “counter emerging threats”, according to the MoD’s statement announcing the deal.

Charles Woodburn, the chief executive of BAE Systems, said: “The Norwegian government’s decision reflects its confidence in British industry’s ability to deliver a superior anti-submarine warfare platform, together with systems and equipment, that will support its future maritime security and reinforce its position within Nato.”

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Business

UK agrees £10bn deal to supply Norway with warships

Published

6 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Jessica Rawnsley

The UK and Norway have agreed a £10bn deal under which Britain will supply the Norwegian navy with at least five new warships.

The agreement involving Type 26 frigates will be the UK’s “biggest ever warship export deal by value”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, while Norway said it would be its largest “defence capability investment” to date.

The government said the deal would support 4,000 UK jobs “well into the 2030s”, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards where the frigates will be built.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the agreement would “drive growth and protect national security for working people”.

“This success is testament to the thousands of people across the country who are not just delivering this next generation capabilities for our Armed Forces but also national security for the UK, our Norwegian partners and Nato for years to come,” he added.

The deal is also expected to support more than 400 British businesses, including 103 in Scotland, the MoD said.

The agreement represents a victory for the British government and defence industry over France, Germany and the United States – which were also being considered by Norway as possible vendors.

It will create a combined UK-Norwegian fleet of 13 anti-submarine frigates – eight British and five Norwegian vessels – to operate jointly in northern Europe, significantly strengthening Nato’s northern flank.

The warships will be constructed at the BAE systems yard in the Govan area of Glasgow, where frigates for the Royal Navy are currently being built.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the choice of the UK “demonstrates the tremendous success of our shipbuilding industry and showcases the world-class skills and expertise of our workforce on the Clyde”.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who informed Sir Keir of the decision to select the UK in a phone call on Saturday night, said the partnership “represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries”.

Støre said the government had weighed two questions in its decision: “Who is our most strategic partner? And who has delivered the best frigates?… The answer to both is the United Kingdom.”

The Type 26 frigates purchased by the Royal Norwegian Navy will be as similar as possible to those used by their British counterparts, and have the same technical specifications.

They are specifically designed to detect and track enemy submarines and engage them in combat if necessary, with deliveries are expected to begin in 2030.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “For over 75 years, Britain and Norway have stood together on Nato’s northern and north-eastern frontiers, keeping the UK and Europe safe. This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership.

“With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together.

“Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure.”

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