Accessibility links
UK UK
Stories About

UK

Wednesday

Is the UK open for business?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Indicator Co-Host Darian Woods Darian Woods/Darian Woods hide caption

toggle caption
Darian Woods/Darian Woods

The Indicator from Planet Money

Is the UK open for business?

Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead ... well, that's according to the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Is the UK open for business?

Listen · 9:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968038/1256938170" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Scotland Yard is reviewing allegations against the Washington Post's publisher and CEO, Will Lewis, shown here at a conference in 2017. The preliminary inquiry centers on Lewis' actions while an executive for Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company.

Scotland Yard is reviewing allegations against the Washington Post's publisher and CEO, Will Lewis, shown here at a conference in 2017. The preliminary inquiry centers on Lewis' actions while an executive for Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper company. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The 'Washington Post' in crisis

U.K. police reviewing accusations against 'Washington Post' publisher

British police are reviewing allegations that Washington Post CEO Will Lewis obstructed justice when he worked for media mogul Rupert Murdoch in the U.K. 13 years ago.

Scotland Yard investigates Washington Post CEO

Listen · 3:49
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5058659/nx-s1-0ec47a79-ec5d-44a3-96ed-1fe8cb55970c" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

A U.S. scientist's tea recipe has Brits aghast. Salt? Warm milk? The horror!

A U.S. scientist has stirred the pot with Britain by offering some controversial advice about tea. Ida Hollis/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ida Hollis/Getty Images

Europe

A U.S. scientist's tea recipe has Brits aghast. Salt? Warm milk? The horror!

Some 250 years after Americans ruined a lot of British tea in Boston Harbor, a U.S. chemist's salty tip for the perfect cup has prompted an intervention from the U.S. Embassy in London.

A U.S. scientist's tea recipe has Brits aghast. Salt? Warm milk? The horror!

Listen · 2:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1226815949/1226870583" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

A U.K. agency has fined TikTok nearly $16 million for handling of children's data

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Sept. 28, 2020. Britain's privacy watchdog has hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty for a slew of data protection breaches including misusing children's data. The Information Commissioner's Office said Tuesday, April 4, 2023, that it issued a $15.9 million fine to the the short-video sharing app, which is wildly popular with young people. Kiichiro Sato/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kiichiro Sato/AP

World

A U.K. agency has fined TikTok nearly $16 million for handling of children's data

The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office said there were up to 1.4 million children under the age of 13 on the app in 2020, despite TikTok's terms of service saying users must be 13 to sign up.

Wednesday

Let them eat... turnips? Tomato shortage in UK has politicians looking for answers

Tomato shortages in the U.K. are being blamed on bad weather, energy prices and trade policy AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP via Getty Images

Economy

Let them eat... turnips? Tomato shortage in UK has politicians looking for answers

Frost, floods, energy prices and Brexit are among the possible culprits in the shortage of tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli and lettuce in the U.K.

Let them eat... turnips? Tomato shortage in UK has politicians looking for answers

Listen · 3:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160054154/1160055925" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday

Recession or Inflation? Governments around the world must pick their poison

The man in black from the 1987 film, The Princess Bride, captures the same kind of hopeless dilemma many governments are facing, choosing between addressing inflation and addressing a possible coming recession. 20th Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption
20th Century Fox

Analysis

America In The Grip Of Inflation

Recession or Inflation? Governments around the world must pick their poison

Liz Truss' resignation as Prime Minister is being blamed on a faulty economic plan. But her fate should serve as a warning to other countries that may have to grapple with an inconceivable choice.

Recession or Inflation? Governments around the world must pick their poison

Listen · 4:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1130788568/1131180720" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

The UK scraps a proposed tax cut for the wealthy that sparked market turmoil

British Prime Minister Liz Truss at the Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham, England on Sunday. Truss and her Treasury chief have spent the last 10 days defending the cut in the face of market mayhem. Stefan Rousseau/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Stefan Rousseau/AP

Europe

The UK scraps a proposed tax cut for the wealthy that sparked market turmoil

The tax cut was part of a package of unfunded cuts unveiled only days ago that sent the pound to record lows and was widely seen as politically toxic.

Wednesday

'Scallop Discos': How Some Glitzy Lights Could Lead To A Low-Impact Fishery

UK scientists discover that bright lights in crab pots make scallops flock through the door like it's Studio 54. Maria Valladares/NOAA/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
Maria Valladares/NOAA/Flickr

Short Wave

'Scallop Discos': How Some Glitzy Lights Could Lead To A Low-Impact Fishery

Scientists in the UK have discovered that if they take a pot meant for catching crabs and just add some bright lights, scallops flock through the door like it's Studio 54. Scallops are normally fished via trawling or dredging—methods that can cause lasting damage to delicate seafloor ecosystems. So this accidental discovery (the lights were initially added to attract crab) could have a significant impact on scallop fishing. We talk with one of the scientists, Robert Enever of Fishtek Marine, a company that creates sustainable fishing gear, about this collaboration between science, industry and conservation.

'Scallop Discos': How Some Glitzy Lights Could Lead To A Low-Impact Fishery

Listen · 14:40
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1121310200/1200393642" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

History Is Over

Thom Yorke, the singer of the British band Radiohead performs on the stage of the "Rock en Seine" music festival in 2006. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

History Is Over

As the end of the 20th century approached, Radiohead took to the recording studio to capture the sound of a society that felt like it was fraying at the edges. Many people had high hopes for the new millennium, but for others a low hum of anxiety lurked just beneath the surface as the world changed rapidly and fears of a Y2K meltdown loomed.

History Is Over

Listen · 53:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1062499423/1200556588" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Monday

Wednesday

39 Bodies Discovered In Truck Container In Southeast England

A police forensic investigation team walks near the site where 39 bodies were discovered in the back of a truck on Wednesday in Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, England. Police believe the truck is from Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, and that it entered the U.K. on Saturday at Holyhead. Leon Neal/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Leon Neal/Getty Images

World

39 Bodies Discovered In Truck Container In Southeast England

British officials say they believe the truck originated in Bulgaria and arrived in the U.K. over the weekend. A man from Northern Ireland is in custody.

Wednesday

Amid Brexit Chaos, Theresa May's Government Survives Confidence Vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks Wednesday at the House of Commons in London during a debate before a no-confidence vote raised by opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. May withstood the challenge to her leadership. Mark Duffy/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Duffy/AP

Europe

Amid Brexit Chaos, Theresa May's Government Survives Confidence Vote

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, had called for the vote in Parliament after the resounding defeat of the Brexit deal that the prime minister had negotiated with the EU.

Tuesday

Britain's Prime Minister Pledges $5.1 Billion In Investment In Africa

British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, South Africa, during a three-nation visit to Africa. May has promised to boost Britain's investment in the continent. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

World

Britain's Prime Minister Pledges $5.1 Billion In Investment In Africa

The move by Theresa May, aimed at strengthening global partnerships post-Brexit, will mark a fundamental shift in focus from short-term poverty reduction to long-term economic growth.