The chief secretary to the Treasury has hailed an unexpected dip in inflation, but admits that the cost of living "is still a pressure for families across the country and there's more work to do".
Inflation has fallen to 2.5% in December from 2.6% in November, which will come as a relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has faced criticism given rising government borrowing costs and a slump in the value of the pound.
The latest figures could open the door for an interest rate cut next month.
Report by Brooksl.
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Rachel Reeves confirmed the UK is currently in “intense negotiations” with the US over tariffs “across the board”. The Chancellor said she “does not want to see tariffs go up”, highlighting her support for “free and open trade”. Report by Faragt. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Rachel Reeves has visited Wellington Barracks in central London after announcing in her Spring Statement that defence spending will increase by 2.5% in GDP. The chancellor and the defence secretary John Healey were shown the first AI-powered strike drone, as they learnt about the work of people on the strategic command's innovation unit. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
The chancellor says house building commitments in her Spring Statement will benefit young people and that she is "not in favour of national service". Speaking to ITV News, Rachel Reeves adds watching a Sabrina Carpenter concert in a box was "the right thing to do" given her security needs. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Rachel Reeves has outlined her plans to "strengthen our nation's defences", by increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP and to build 1.5 million new homes. The chancellor acknowledges that the OBR has downgraded the UK's growth forecast for 2025 from 2% to 1%, but adds, "it has upgraded growth for next year and every year after that". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Sir Ed Davey says the latest figures showing a dip in UK growth are "really disappointing". The Liberal Democrat leader adds that the figures are a result of the Labour government's budget, their jobs tax and their lack of a growth strategy. His comments come after the latest Office for National Statistics data showed growth contracted by 0.1% in January. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
A health minister says long-term, systemic domestic problems and a volatile global state has affected UK growth, as the latest Office for National Statistics figures show the economy contracted by 0.1% in January. Karin Smyth adds growth "is difficult, it's going to take some time, but we are determined to get there". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Robert Jenrick says "confidence has collapsed within our economy", after the latest Office for National Statistics figures show it contracted by 0.1% in January. The shadow justice secretary says the figures are a result of Rachel Reeves' "disastrous" Autumn budget, and urges the chancellor to stop her "anti-growth measures" and "put the economy back on firm footing again". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Rachel Reeves says the government is "determined" to turn around a decade of poor growth performance, after the latest Office for National Statistics figures show the UK economy contracted by 0.1% in January. The announcement is a blow to the chancellor ahead of her Spring statement on March 26. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
The shadow chancellor of the exchequer has defended the previous government for the rise in inflation, instead blaming Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget and other government decisions, including increased spending and borrowing. Mel Stride's comments come after government ministers pointed blame at the previous Conservative government after new data from the Office for National Statistics estimated that the rate of UK inflation rose from 2.5% in December to 3% in. Report by Faragt. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Yvette Cooper says the rules around illegal immigration and people-smuggling haven't been respected "for far too long". The home secretary, who hosted 40 foreign counterparts at the Border Security Summit in London, adds they have agreed "new law enforcement cooperation" and "intelligence sharing" to "go after these vile criminal gangs and tackle this terrible trade in human beings". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
People smugglers were given an "open invitation" to send migrants to the UK because the police and intelligence agencies were not working together, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The prime minister said he was "angry" about the scale of illegal migration as he convened a summit involving 40 countries to address the problem. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Sir Keir Starmer has held bilateral talks with the Finnish president at Downing Street. Alexander Stubb said he "hit it off" with the UK prime minister "straight off the bat" and added that the UK is "back in the game" on the international stage. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
The prime minister has hosted a roundtable with the creators of TV series Adolescence, to discuss how to stop young people from being influenced by toxic content online. Sitting next to Jack Thorne, one of its writers, Sir Keir Starmer said the show is "a torch that shines intensely brightly on a combination of issues that many people don't know how to respond to", but admits that, as a dad, he did not find it "not easy viewing". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Robert Jenrick says the justice secretary's decision to override independent guidance on how ethnic minorities should be sentenced is "unfair" and "discriminatory". The shadow justice secretary adds, "she has failed totally in her duty to uphold the rule of law". He adds "two-tier sentencing" is "biased" against men, white people and Christians. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
The shadow chancellor says the Treasury "should not be popping champagne corks" over the unexpected dip in inflation to 2.5% in December. Mel Stride adds the government has "killed growth stone dead"..
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