- Reuters
Britain and NATO allies must spend more, be tougher, UK's Cameron to say
Britain's foreign minister, David Cameron, will urge its fellow NATO members to meet their pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence, and to be tougher and more assertive with adversaries, in a speech to be delivered on Thursday. In what is billed as his first major pronouncement as foreign secretary, Cameron will say NATO must "out-compete, out-cooperate and out-innovate", and that Britain must not only bolster existing alliances but also forge new partnerships around the globe.
- Reuters
UK election winner should scrap debt cut target, think tank says
The winner of Britain's election this year needs to scrap budget rules that are holding back economic growth and cannot be met without higher taxes, a leading think-tank said on Thursday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his finance minister Jeremy Hunt are following a self-imposed target of having public debt falling as a share of gross domestic product by 2028-29. The opposition Labour Party, which is far ahead in opinion polls, says it will keep this rule to demonstrate its grip on the public finances.
- Reuters
UK property surveyors see pick-up in house sales later in 2024
British property surveyors expect an increase in property sales later this year, despite an ongoing drag from high borrowing costs, as the number of homes being put up for sale rose last month at the fastest pace since September 2020. But there were signs of a rising volume of transactions, chiming with Bank of England data last week which showed a 20% annual rise in mortgage approvals in March to an 18-month high.
