Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowing

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When Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK’s aid budget – losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process.

This time around, with John Healey’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional £18.5bn over four years to fund the defence investment plan, there was no such lever to hand.

GDP hit by higher energy prices caused by Middle East conflict, after 0.3% rise in March

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in April as the Iran war began to take its toll on growth, official figures show.

As energy prices have risen as a result of the conflict, after Iran closed off the strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping route for global trade – the UK’s strong expansion in the first quarter slid into reverse.

Report says confidence among 16- to 21-year-olds has fallen sharply as they doubt hard work will be rewarded

Young people in England are increasingly “losing faith in their futures” according to a report, as record numbers fear long-term unemployment.

Analysing survey data, including from the Office for National Statistics, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said 16- to 21-year-olds were less confident about being successful than a decade ago.

Government-funded JobsPlus trial in 10 neighbourhoods could be scalable nationwide, evaluation shows

• We would like to hear from young people in the UK about their job-hunting experiences

A government-funded pilot of “hyperlocal” job support in 10 neighbourhoods across England has shown “promising early signs of effectiveness”, including for young people, and could be scalable nationwide, a new evaluation has shown.

The JobsPlus scheme, backed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Youth Futures Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation, focuses intensive support in a small area of predominantly social housing. Echoing a similar, long-established scheme in the US, “community champions” at each site help to engage hard-to-reach people in the local area.