Some good news for the British economy – but the celebration might not last long
We’ve been waiting for a while for the Office for National Statistics to deliver us some good news on the British economy – and today it came.
Output grew by 0.5% in February, up from zero growth in January and higher than the 0.1% forecast by economists.
Some usual caveats apply. Monthly data can be volatile and prone to revision – but it can go up as well as down.
While publishing the latest figures, the ONS also revised up its January figure from -0.1% to zero.
It’s clear that, across the economy, sectors performed robustly.
The big surprise was manufacturing.
Business surveys told us that UK factories were on their knees, anxious about Trump’s tariffs and impending tax rises that came into effect in April.
Yet the production sector grew by 1.5% – led by pharmaceuticals, metals and transport equipment. Businesses have been resilient.
The chancellor will be pleased, but the celebrations are likely to be fleeting.
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Analysis: Trump blinks as bonds falter
The world has already moved on, with Donald Trump unleashing policy chaos on the global economy.
Britain is now facing a 10% tariff on exports to the US and there will be pockets of acute stress, particularly for our car manufacturers, who have been hit with a 25% tariff.
They export more to the US than any other country in the world. Indeed, some of the growth in manufacturing may have been driven by businesses rushing to do deals before tariffs came into force.
The tariffs alone on the UK will be painful – but the most significant damage is likely to come from a slowdown in the global economy.
The US and China are engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war and that will have negative spillovers, especially for an open economy like ours. We won’t escape the fallout.
Businesses here in the UK might curtail hiring and investment in response, their hesitancy compounded by uncertainty over what Donald Trump might do next.
Consumers may also retreat, especially if the pound weakens and imports become more expensive, causing inflationary consequences.
So, while we’ve finally been given something to cheer, darker days beckon. We should enjoy it while it lasts.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest document on its examination priorities for 2026 has noticeably omitted its regular section on crypto, seemingly in line with US President Donald Trump’s embrace of the industry.
On Monday, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its examination priorities for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026, which made no specific mention of crypto or digital assets.
However, the SEC said that its stated priorities are not “an exhaustive list of all the areas the Division will focus on in the upcoming year.”
The US crypto industry has boomed under Trump, who has largely worked to deregulate the sector while his family has expanded their footprint into crypto with a trading platform, mining business, stablecoin and token.
“Examinations are an important component to accomplishing the agency’s mission, but they should not be a ’gotcha’ exercise,” SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a statement.
“Today’s release of examination priorities should enable firms to prepare to have a constructive dialogue with SEC examiners and provide transparency into the priorities of the agency’s most public-facing division,” he added.
The Division of Examinations is responsible for probing organizations, including investment advisers, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and stock exchanges, for compliance with federal securities laws.
Related: Crypto oversight by CFTC over SEC is ‘directionally correct’ — Jeff Park
Last year, under outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the Division said it would focus on the “offer, sale, recommendation, advice, trading, and other activities involving crypto assets,” explicitly naming spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds as a priority.
“Given the volatility and activity involving the crypto asset markets, the Division will continue to monitor and, when appropriate, conduct examinations of registrants offering crypto asset-related services,” the Division said last year.
The examination division also wrote a section dedicated to crypto assets and emerging financial technology in 2023.
In its latest priorities list, the SEC said it was focusing on “core areas,” including fiduciary duty, custody and customer information protection.
The SEC said in its report that it will focus on “the risks associated with the use of emerging technologies,” and made particular mention of artificial intelligence and automated investment tools.
A section of the agency’s report outlines that it will also give “particular attention” to firms’ ability to react and recover from cyber incidents, “including those related to ransomware attacks.”
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Politics
Home secretary admits illegal immigration numbers still ‘too high’ under Labour – but says Farage can ‘sod off’
The home secretary has admitted the UK’s illegal immigrant numbers are “too high” – but said Nigel Farage can “sod off” after he claimed she sounded like a Reform supporter.
Shabana Mahmood, speaking just after announcing a major policy change on migration, said she was “horrified” by the 27% increase of irregular arrivals in the year to June.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the home secretary said: “I acknowledge the numbers are too high, and they’ve gone up, and I want to bring them down.
“I’m impatient to bring those numbers down.”
She refused to “set arbitrary numbers” on how much she wanted to bring illegal migration down to.
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Beth Rigby: The two big problems with Labour’s asylum plan
Earlier on Monday, Ms Mahmood announced a new direction in Labour’s plan to crack down on asylum seekers.
The “restoring order and control” plan includes:
• The removal of more families with children – either voluntarily through cash incentives up to £3,000, or by force;
• Quadrupling the time successful asylum seekers must wait to claim permanent residency in the UK, from five years to 20;
• Removing the legal obligation to provide financial support to asylum seekers, so those with the right to work but choose not to will receive no support;
• Setting up a new appeals body to significantly speed up the time it takes to decide whether to refuse an asylum application;
• Reforming how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is interpreted in immigration cases;
• Banning visas for countries refusing to accept deportees;
• And the establishment of new safe and legal refugee routes.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Labour’s plans
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the plan was much like something his party would put forward, and said Ms Mahmood sounded like a Reform supporter.
The home secretary responded with her usual frankness, telling Rigby: “Nigel Farage can sod off. I’m not interested in anything he’s got to say.
“He’s making mischief. So I’m not going to let him live forever in my head.”
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Home secretary announces details on asylum reform
You might need our support, says Badenoch
Her plans have also been tentatively welcomed by the Conservatives, with Kemi Badenoch suggesting the home secretary work with her in case of a rebellion by Labour MPs.
The backing of Tory MPs could “come in handy”, Ms Badenoch said.
The government’s attempts to cut the welfare bill earlier this year were thwarted by its own backbenchers, and the proposals announced on Monday have already attracted backlash from some on the left of the Labour Party.
Nadia Whittome MP called Ms Mahmood’s plans “dystopian” and “shameful”, while Richard Burgon MP said she should change course now rather than be forced into a U-turn later.
Read more:
How the UK and Denmark’s immigration policies compare
Nigel Farage said the home secretary was sounding like a Reform supporter
Mahmood’s warning to Labour MPs
But Ms Mahmood has warned her colleagues that disrupting her bid to reform the asylum system – thus hoping to bring down the number of small boat crossings – risks “dark forces” coming to prominence.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday evening, Ms Mahmood said: “If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred.”
She later told Beth Rigby that Reform wanted to “rip up” indefinite leave to remain altogether, which she called “immoral” and “deeply shameful”.
The home secretary, who is a practising Muslim, was born in Birmingham to her Pakistani parents.
Earlier, in the House of Commons, she said she sees the division that migration and the asylum system are creating across the country. She told MPs she regularly endures racial slurs.
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