The politics behind the UK Budget

Investors have warned that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s attempts to slash long-term US borrowing costs are doomed to fail, and European oil refinery capacity is set to shrink by a fifth over the next decade. Plus, Shanghai’s answer to the Nasdaq index is benefiting from an ...  Show more

Shares in vaccine-maker Moderna lept after it reported successful trial results for an experimental cancer vaccine, and the US Treasury department will at least double the size of its buyback of long-term government debt. Plus, top US legal firms are sparking controversy for hiri ...  Show more

UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has had an action-packed week. She made a U-turn on winter fuel payments, announced plans to spend billions of pounds on new transport schemes and, following the prime minister’s latest announcement, she now has to find yet more money to fund a rise in ...  Show more

This week we analyse prime minister Boris Johnson’s game on social care reform, what the plan involves and whether the Conservative party and its voters will swallow tax rises. Political editor George Parker and economics editor Chris Giles dissect the details.

Plus we l ...

Rachel Reeves’s plans for a tough spending round later this month have sparked a fierce revolt among a raft of cabinet ministers. But will their protests make a difference? Host Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix regulars Robert Shrimsley and George Parker to discuss. They ...

As Donald Trump makes his first appointments, speculation in Whitehall grows: will the UK move closer to the US or cosy back up with the EU?

The FT’s Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix regulars George Parker and Robert Shrimsley, as well as Peter Foster, the FT’s ...