New UK Chancellor, 10th Day of US-Iran Strikes, More
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The Bloomberg This Weekend Podcast. News, politics, and the lighter side of Bloomberg. The most coveted cosmetic enhancement in Asia right now are elf ears. Elf ears. Yes. People are getting injections to enhance their ears. I really don't need anything else to learn to be self-conscious about. This is not something I needed to have on my radar. The Bloomberg This Weekend Podcast. Subscribe today on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Lizzie Burden.
And I'm Stephen Carroll.
This morning Andy Burnham's new government has said that it will remove VAT from household electricity bills in England, Wales and Scotland from October. The announcement comes after the new Prime Minister pledged yesterday that one of his first acts in office would be to give households breathing space from the cost of living crisis. The government says the measure will cut around £45 from the annual energy bill covered by the regulator's price cap, with Northern Ireland receiving comparable funding. The tax cut will be funded by scrapping a £1.8 billion digital ID programme.
Britain borrows more than forecast in the first three months of the fiscal year, underlining the challenge facing Andy Burnham's surprise pick of John Healey as Chancellor. The budget deficit reached almost £58 billion between April and June, almost £3 billion more than the Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast in March. Healey now takes over a slow-growing economy that's struggling to generate the tax revenue needed to keep pace with rising spending on debt interest and public services. Speaking yesterday, the newly appointed Chancellor was keen to enforce a message. of economic discipline.
The Prime Minister and I have talked about how we will work in lockstep to meet the fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty and how we'll make life more affordable for working people right across the UK.
Healey's appointment is now fuelling speculation that the administration will spend more on defence after Healey quit the previous Labour government over military funding. Last month, Healy also described the Treasury, which he's now running, as a dead hand on dynamic government in an interview with the BBC. He now has to convince investors he can pay for Andy Burnham's growing list of promises after the UK's new Prime Minister pledged to end political instability in the country.
We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years. A new political model and a new economic model.
Andy Burnham speaking there as he appointed Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary, retained Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary, named West Streeting Defence Secretary and brought Angela Rayner back into government as Housing Secretary.
The new Prime Minister has invited US President Donald Trump to Manchester during their first call as leaders. Trump posted online that he'd had a very good conversation with Andy Burnham. Bloomberg's James Wilcock has more.
Britain cherishes its relationship with America, but President Trump is deeply unpopular in the UK. The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has said he plans on being up front in his dealings with the famously mercurial president. On their first phone call, the two leaders discussed North Sea oil, trade and demining the Strait of Hormuz.
What immediate VAT cut on household electricity did the new UK government announce?
Plus, the former mayor of Manchester made a point of inviting Trump to come and see his city, which the US president has in the past called a town. In London, James Wilcock, Bloomberg Radio.
The US President has vowed to impose a new 50% tariff on some Canadian goods and one of the most severe threats yet against America's second largest trading partner. Bloomberg's Executive Editor for Canada, Derek DeCloet, says it's a worrying escalation.
A lot of the things that are on the new list of US tariffs, certain types of consumer products, Canadian-made beer and alcohol, they're not necessarily really large categories of business between the two countries.
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