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Financial Times
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The State of Britain

The UK's economy, trade and investment

FT reporters go beyond the Westminster bubble and examine policy areas that matter to business, investors and decision makers.

Sign up to the newsletter here

  • Thursday, 26 March, 2026
    National Health Service
    The NHS’s uncertain future

    Also in this week’s newsletter, London’s housing crisis

    Premium content
    A person in a hooded coat carries a Union Flag-themed bag, walking past a large "Thank You NHS and to our key workers" banner with a rainbow.
  • Thursday, 19 March, 2026
    UK devolution
    Can Reeves overcome the sceptics on fiscal devolution?

    Plus, Labour prepares for another go at reforming sickness benefits

    Premium content
    Rachel Reeves gestures while speaking in front of a red backdrop with the words "STRATEGIC STATE" partially visible.
  • Thursday, 12 March, 2026
    UK universities
    The AI cheating question dividing universities

    Plus, the impact of rising oil prices on public finances

    Premium content
    People walk in front of the University of Manchester's University Place building, known as the Tin Can, on Oxford Road. Large "Manchester" letters are displayed above the entrance.
  • Thursday, 5 March, 2026
    Health sector
    The transatlantic tussle over UK drug pricing

    Plus, the gap between Rachel Reeves’ rhetoric and her spending plans

    Premium content
    A woman holds a Mounjaro KwikPen injector, labeled 7.5 mg, used for weight-loss injections.
  • Thursday, 26 February, 2026
    UK economy
    AI and the crisis of confidence in the British state

    Plus, Keir Starmer neutralises potential Send rebellion

    Premium content
    The NHS App page is open on a smartphone screen, with a large red heart shape blurred in the background.
  • Thursday, 19 February, 2026
    UK local government finance
    Reform’s reality check in town halls across the country

    Plus, green jobs risk derailing insurgent party’s national message

    Premium content
    Richard Tice speaks on stage, gesturing with both hands, wearing a suit and patterned tie, with a headset microphone.
  • Thursday, 12 February, 2026
    UK politics
    Political crises lead to ‘perma-purdah’ in Whitehall

    Plus, rising public frustration with high state spending and taxes

    Premium content
    Street sign for Whitehall in Westminster, London, with its reflection visible on a glass surface.
  • Thursday, 5 February, 2026
    Labour’s new approach to research

    Plus, the winners and the losers from the student loan changes

    Premium content
    The Bridge of Sighs at Oxford University, an ornate stone skyway with arched windows connecting two college buildings.
  • Thursday, 29 January, 2026
    Artificial intelligence
    Labour’s gamble to turn AI threat into opportunity

    Also in this week’s newsletter: Mahmood’s far-reaching police reforms

    Premium content
    Hand signing a financial contract with a fountain pen, with eyeglasses resting on the table in the background.
  • Thursday, 22 January, 2026
    Global trade
    Universities lead the way to a new relationship with China

    Also in today’s newsletter: new labour market data highlights the worrying number of long-term sick

    Premium content
    Aerial view of Royal Mint Court, a large historic white building surrounded by modern office blocks, soon to be the new Chinese Embassy site.
  • Thursday, 15 January, 2026
    Whitehall’s blame game: ministers vs mandarins

    Also in this week’s newsletter, why hard choices keep losing at the ballot box

    Premium content
    Whitehall street sign on a stone building in Westminster, with an ornate black fence in the foreground.
  • Thursday, 8 January, 2026
    Health sector
    Labour tries to find a cure for its welfare woes

    Plus, the push to reduce special education costs

    Premium content
    A protester in a pink hat and sunglasses holds a sign reading "Losing PIP means we can't survive" at a benefit cuts protest.
  • Thursday, 18 December, 2025
    UK employment
    A change of approach to the youth unemployment problem

    Plus, Bank of England cuts interest rates but signals caution on future reductions

    Premium content
    Alan Milburn stands in front of a colorful graffiti mural featuring a large red boxing glove and motivational words at Boxing Futures.
  • Thursday, 11 December, 2025
    Rail
    Mind the gap: what the Railways Bill doesn’t tell us

    Also in this week’s newsletter: Flu cases hit record levels in England’s hospitals

    Premium content
    A train painted in the new Great British Railways red, white, and blue livery, inspired by the union flag, travels on electrified tracks.
  • Thursday, 4 December, 2025
    Healthcare
    NHS under pressure to reduce number of private sector operations

    All is not well with Labour’s plan to cut waiting lists by using independent hospitals for many routine procedures

    Premium content
    Large sign for Spire Bristol Hospital in front of a red brick hospital building on a clear day.
  • Thursday, 27 November, 2025
    UK Autumn Budget 2025
    The Budget’s unusual ‘winners’

    The chancellor’s £10bn of extra welfare payments will fall on the shoulders of companies, entrepreneurs and ‘working people’

    Premium content
    Rachel Reeves delivers the budget statement at the House of Commons, standing at the dispatch box with papers in hand, surrounded by MPs.
  • Thursday, 20 November, 2025
    Bonds
    Reeves must avoid awakening the bond market bear

    Also in this week’s newsletter, domestic investors pull money from UK equities

    Premium content
    Rachel Reeves, holding documents, leaves a building with a slight smile, wearing a floral scarf and dark outfit.
  • Thursday, 13 November, 2025
    UK energy
    Alarm grows over household energy bill arrears

    Also in this newsletter, a surge in applications from companies wanting to connect to the grid

    Premium content
    A domestic smart energy meter displays current electricity and gas usage costs, showing £0.50 for electricity and £0.28 for gas.
  • Thursday, 6 November, 2025
    UK banks
    Bankers see off Chancellor’s raid but remain vigilant

    Plus, the Treasury’s decision to spare banks lifts shares

    Premium content
    People walk past a NatWest branch in the City of London, with a London Underground sign visible nearby.
  • Thursday, 30 October, 2025
    UK economy
    A defence-led growth strategy comes with compromises

    Also in this week’s newsletter: why the economy is politically impossible to manage

    Premium content
    Large fire and smoke are visible at night through trees, with flames engulfing the Bryansk chemical plant.
  • Thursday, 23 October, 2025
    Manchester
    Lessons from Manchester for Labour’s new town agenda

    Plus, rumblings about a levy on international student fees

    Premium content
    Manchester skyline with modern high-rise buildings and cranes, set behind lush green trees and parkland on a cloudy spring day.
  • Thursday, 16 October, 2025
    Cyber Security
    JLR cyber attacks highlight challenges facing UK car industry

    Also in this week’s newsletter: a warning for the rest of British industry from the National Cyber Security Centre

    Premium content
    A black Range Rover SUV at the front of a production line inside a Jaguar Land Rover factory.
  • Thursday, 9 October, 2025
    Retail sector
    Shoplifting — a war that’s hurting retailers and law-abiding people

    Also in this week’s newsletter: signs of life in London’s IPO market

    Premium content
    Several people in dark clothing and hoods are seen inside a sports shop, with large checked bags on the floor and clothing on racks nearby.
  • Thursday, 25 September, 2025
    UK immigration
    The blockages to attracting highly skilled workers to the UK

    Also in this week’s newsletter, gilt investors take fright at Andy Burnham’s comments

    Premium content
    Large sign reading "Welcome to the UK Border" hangs above empty passport control lanes at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2.
  • Thursday, 18 September, 2025
    Northern Ireland
    Data breach deepens Northern Ireland’s funding crisis

    Plus some good news for inward investment into NI

    Premium content
    Simon Byrne looks upward during a press conference at the Northern Ireland Policing Board headquarters.
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