Business

Network Rail to set up property company to deliver 40,000 homes

It is part of a drive to free up unused public land to help the government deliver its manifesto pledge to build 1.5m homes over this parliament.
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File pic: iStock

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Pic: PA

Podcast
Podcast
Spring statement: Beth Rigby and Ed Conway on Rachel Reeves’s changed plan

Analysis
Analysis
After chancellor’s spring statement we end more or less where we began

Why on earth is British economic policy being determined in large part with the objective of helping the chancellor to meet a fiscal rule she set herself and no one much cares about outside of Whitehall? The truth is, there’s no particularly good answer to that question.

British Steel’s Chinese owner rejects £500m government aid offer

Jingye Group has turned down an offer of taxpayer support proposed by Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, leaving fresh questions over thousands of steel industry jobs, Sky News can reveal.
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British Steel Ltd steelworks in Scunthorpe.
Pic: PA

Analysis
Analysis
‘Uncertainty’ features 50+ times in Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assessment of UK public finances

Warnings on forthcoming US tariffs and criticism of the UK government’s detail on welfare plans contributed to the OBR’s assessment that making forecasts is harder. The chancellor is still at risk of breaking her self-imposed fiscal rules.

Farage and NatWest agree to settle debanking dispute

The Reform UK leader has agreed to end his dispute with the high street banking giant nearly two years after the closure of his Coutts accounts led to the ousting of its former CEO, Sky News can exclusively reveal.
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Pic: AP/iStock

Budget calculator: See how your finances have changed after 2025 spring statement

The chancellor has given an update on the overall health of the economy – but what does it mean for you?

Veganism in trouble – and the man who sold half a million steaks with a 12,000-year-old idea to fix it

A nose-to-tail chef who once received death threats from vegans thinks he can stop the plant-based industry’s sales flatlining.
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Chef Neil Rankin

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Chef Neil Rankin

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Rankin spent his life cooking meat before Symplicity, including working for Jamie Oliver at Barbecoa steakhouse and opening barbeque restaurant Pitt Cue as head chef. Pic: Paul Winch-Furness

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Indy Kaur said a lot of new meat-alt companies haven’t had the time to build up trust like bigger food brands

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Sophie Gordon, a chef for 10 years, specialises in using every part of each vegetable – including writing in her book a whole section on onion and garlic peel. Pic: Samuel Tingman

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Neil Rankin

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A Symplicity Foods burger. Pic: Jack Williams

OBR slashes UK growth forecast for 2025 but upgrades it for rest of parliament

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded growth for 2025 but upgraded it for every year after for the rest of this parliament. Its forecasts for the UK economy are for higher unemployment and inflation this year, but it said so-called economic inactivity is lower than thought.

Explainer
Explainer
Spring statement 2025 key takeaways

From welfare cuts to defence spending, here are the main announcements from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.