u3a

South East London

U3A Current affairs discussion group 31st March 2025

  1. Spring Statement

Spring Statement 2025: Key points at a glance

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qjn879lr4o

Chris Mason: Trump means uncertainty is the new certainty for the UK

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jp6n82k4xo

Why Rachel Reeves may raise UK taxes in October

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr52glegdnvo

UK private sector growth rises to six-month high in boost for Rachel Reeves

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/24/uk-private-sector-growth-pmi-rachel-reeves-services-trump-tariffs

Reeves squeezes benefits as 2025 growth forecast halved

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7v4370d2xo

Reeves accused of balancing books on back of UK’s poorest

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/26/reeves-accused--balancing-books-back-of-uk-poorest-spring-statement

Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/25/reeves-to-put-2bn-into-affordable-housing-to-sweeten-the-pill-of-cuts

UK carmakers to meet government over Trump tariffs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crlxl34gznxo

See the attached document kindly submitter by Tom by Liam Halligan from When The Facts Change

Publicly available polling by YouGov shows 68 per cent of the public believe the benefits system works badly and needs reform, while only 18 per cent believe it does not. But it’s slightly more nuanced than for and against. In the same survey 45 per cent believe that people with a disability receive too little support, while only 10 per cent believe they receive too much.

Scheme to be launched later this year, under which tax avoidance "informants" will get a slice of any money recovered

  • Americans “Leak” war plans

Katya Adler: Disdain for Europe in US Signal chat horrifies EU

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c204vl27n2qo

US launches wave of air strikes on Yemen's Houthis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05mvr3j3yro

Trump and intelligence chiefs play down Signal group chat leak

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8vgr0p8n6o

Trump's national security team's chat app leak stuns Washington

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyd9e5lkpro

White House security leak: who’s who in the Signal group chat

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/white-house-security-leak-who-signal-group-chat

  • Should we have to pay a subscription to access Facebook and other social media?

Meta to stop targeting UK citizen with personalised ads after settling privacy case

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/22/meta-confirms-it-is-considering-charging-uk-users-for-ad-free-version

  • Foreign cheap labour helps our inflation.

Cheaper clothing pushes down UK inflation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g3wwk01vo

  • Free speech at universities.

University of Sussex fined £585,000 for failing to uphold freedom of speech

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/26/university-of-sussex-fined-freedom-of-speech-investigation-kathleen-stock

University of Sussex taking legal action over £585,000 free speech fine

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/27/university-of-sussex-legal-action-free-speech-fine-sasha-roseneil

  • How much would you pay for a pint in a pub?

Prospect of £5 pint leaves bitter taste for some pubgoers

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/24/prospect-of-5-pint-leaves-bitter-taste-for-some-pubgoers

  • The end of W. H. Smiths on the high street?

WH Smith brand to disappear from high street as £76m sale of stores to Modella agreed

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/28/wh-smith-brand-to-disappear-as-76m-sale-of-stores-to-modella-agreed

  • Is this a wise spend of public money?

Lower Thames Crossing approved by government

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crewy5472gxo

  • Should we be offering a refuge for academics fleeing Trumps America?

A French university is offering ‘scientific asylum’ for US talent. The brain drain has started

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/24/french-university-scientific-asylum-american-talent-brain-drain

European universities offer ‘scientific asylum’ to US researchers fleeing Trump’s cuts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/europe-universities-us-researchers-trump-administration-science