Chris Smyth

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Steven Swinford |Oliver Wright |Chris Smyth

Sir Keir Starmer has secured the first deal with President Trump since he embarked on his global trade war, sealing cuts to tariffs on car and steel exports that threatened thousands of jobs. Under an agreement unveiled in the Oval Office, tariffs on steel and aluminium will be reduced from 25 per cent to zero and levies on British car exports lowered from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent. However, a blanket 10 per cent tariff will still apply to most goods.

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth |Oliver Wright

President Trump called it a “great deal for both countries”, while Sir Keir Starmer said it was “a significant step in the right direction”. In reality, it was a limited deal necessitated on the UK side by the urgent needs of the car industry. Starmer has made concessions to Trump’s agricultural base, offering big cuts on tariffs on beef and ethanol in return for the easing of tariffs on UK car and steel exports. Both sides said they wanted to go further in future negotiations.

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Max Kendix |Aubrey Allegretti |Chris Smyth

Sir Keir Starmer has been warned he faces his biggest parliamentary rebellion yet over welfare reforms, as about 40 Labour MPs warned they were “impossible to support”. The prime minister was told planned changes to bring down the cost of disability benefits would create “more hardship”, and urged to delay the move until later in the summer.

6 days ago | thetimes.com | Jack Barnett |Chris Smyth |Steven Swinford

Rachel Reeves’s tax rises have left the economy in a “risky and vulnerable” position and will force her to raise taxes or cut spending by up to £60 billion before the next election, economists have warned. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that the chancellor’s decision to raise the employers’ rate of national insurance has had a “damaging” impact on economic growth and will lead to higher prices and lower wages.

1 week ago | thetimes.com | Chris Smyth

Wes Streeting has criticised junior doctors for starting a strike ballot before the government has even made a pay offer, claiming they are asking for a rise of more than 10 per cent this year. The health secretary said the vote was “unnecessary” and “premature”, warning doctors that the NHS may not survive if Labour’s recovery plan is wrecked by another bout of strikes.