Newscast

Prime Minister Andy Burnham used a House of Commons statement on his UN General Assembly trip, where he met Donald Trump among others, to repeat his message on Brexit. He said sticking with the status quo was not good enough and called for a serious dialogue on long-term options for the UK-EU relationship, with the British public in charge at every stage. Downing Street said he would keep Labour's manifesto red lines of not joining the single market or customs union for this parliament. His immediate priority was the rescheduled UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November, expected to cover sanitary and phytosanitary rules for animal products, emissions trading and possibly a youth experience scheme.

The broadcast discussed the politics around the statement, including suggestions that a document examining options such as a customs union could follow the summit. It noted business groups were calculating what rejoining the customs union or single market would mean, and one business argument that there was no status quo because proposals to leave the European Convention on Human Rights could reopen the Brexit settlement. It also noted Denmark is the only EU member with a legal opt-out from the euro, while other non-euro members remain obliged to join eventually.

At the IMF autumn meetings in Bangkok, Faisal Islam reported that the IMF had revised UK growth up for this year, back to where it was before its original assessment of the Iran war, leaving UK growth middling historically but joint second highest in 2026. The forecast suggested the UK had not so far been the hardest hit by the Iran war, possibly because it is less connected and sensitive to gas and the crisis centred on oil. The IMF chief economist told the programme that the UK stood out in the G7 for the sharpest fiscal consolidation, with a reduction in the deficit as a percentage of GDP of nearly 4% from 2025 to 2031, while three G7 countries including the US were increasing their deficits, two were about the same and only France was marginally cutting. The IFS and OBR had questioned how realistic UK spending plans were, warning inflation could force top-ups to departmental budgets and defence was also a pressure. The Treasury was said to be leaning into the message of serious deficit reduction. Chancellor John Healey was due at the IMF meeting, and a cabinet readout said he told colleagues the IMF report showed the resilience of the British economy despite global shocks and a strong track record on public finances and fiscal discipline.