Ben Chu

bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Growth Conundrum, 1. Growing PainsWhy does the UK find it so difficult to generate strong economic growth?

🚨NEW 🚨 New 3 part series from me and producer Caroline Bayley for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: *The Growth Conundrum* Listen to PART 1️⃣here, which sets out just how bad things are when it comes to UK growth, why we should care - and what's blocking growth... 👇 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.ukUnderstand - The Growth Conundrum - 1. Growing Pains - BBC SoundsWhy does the UK find it so difficult to generate strong economic growth?

17h

A recommendation to listen to The Growth Conundrum 👇🎧

Victoria Derbyshire@vicderbyshire.bsky.social

Recommending the new docco from the brilliant Ben Chu The Growth Conundrum - clear story telling, expert contributions and a concise narrative www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Growth Conundrum, 1. Growing PainsWhy does the UK find it so difficult to generate strong economic growth?

bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Growth Conundrum, 2. Growth PotentialWhat can the UK learn from Poland and other fast growing economies?

Listen to PART 2️⃣here, which looks at what we might learn from other fast-growing countries, such as a Poland, which is experiencing a growth miracle...👇 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Understand, The Growth Conundrum, 3. Growing UpWhat are the strengths the UK can build on to get the economy growing again?

And here's PART 3️⃣, which delves into the UK's politics and examines what we need to do to see change there to break out of our weak growth trap 👇🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

pca.stThe Growth Conundrum: TrailerEvery UK government, up to and including the current one, claims to want to achieve economic growth. But for almost 20 years not a single one has delivered sustained economic expansion. BBC…

Listen to the trailer for the Growth Conundrum here 📻 pca.st/episode/4bd7...

Ben Chu@benchu.bsky.social

📣COMING SOON 📣 My new BBC Radio 4/Sounds series "The Growth Conundrum" 🎧📻 Why does economic growth matter? What does the UK need to do to get more of it? I delve deep over 3 episodes into this central issue. ⏰ DROPPING ON MONDAY 26 OCTOBER ⏰ Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

A much-debated question in relation to the UK government's Jackdaw gas field approval is what it does to the UK's future gas consumption mix. Some key figures. 🔎 Jackdaw's owner says its production emissions will be lower than from existing UK North Sea gas infrastructure...

bbc.co.ukJackdaw: Will it cut energy bills and how much gas will it provide?BBC Verify looks at what the Jackdaw decision means for bills, energy security and the environment.

Read more in my online article for the BBC website 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukWill drilling the Jackdaw gas field bring down energy bills? - BBC SoundsAnalysis from BBC's Verify's Policy and Analysis correspondent Ben Chu.

And you can listen here on Sounds 🎧 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The answer to which the Climate Change Committee has previously said is "highly uncertain"... www.theccc.org.uk/publication/...

Although, worth stressing that additional Jackdaw emissions would not be significant relative to global supply and demand in any case. Though lots more to say/debate, of course, about UK climate leadership, developed country climate responsibilities etc...

It's only safe to say that Jackdaw MIGHT lead to net lower UK-related production emissions, rather than that it definitely WILL...

And, of course, most of the emissions are from burning the gas, rather than producing it. So the question is whether the Jackdaw decision leads to a net increase in GLOBAL, not UK, supply/demand for gas...

Some have argued that Norway's existing gas pipelines to the UK are at capacity so it could only be 1) i.e that Jackdaw displaces US LNG...

Interestingly, the Government today has said, this is "not certain" and that the Norwegian pipeline is only at capacity at certain times in Winter... assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ad77f...

But Jackdaw production emissions would be higher than the emissions from Norwegian North Sea pipeline gas, which accounts for around 70% of UK imports...

So the question is: will Jackdaw's gas displace 1) US LNG or 2) Norwegian pipeline? If it's 1) the Jackdaw decision could be a net positive for UK-related gas emissions If it's 2) it could be a net negative...

And much lower than the emissions from the production, shipping, processing of US LNG, which now accounts for around a quarter of UK gas imports...

Ahead of the US mid term elections, Donald Trump says he's turned the US into the "world's hottest economy". 🗽 What does the evidence show? I've had a look for BBC Verify. Here's 6 key charts 📈📉...

& the US economy is also being helped by high government borrowing and an AI investment boom - and could falter if that spending were to dry up...

bbc.co.ukHow is the US economy really doing under President Trump?Ahead of the midterms Trump has boasted about the performance of the US economy. BBC Verify looks at inflation, jobs and economic growth in the country.

Read more detail here 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And a 6% of GDP deficit has contributed to rising US government market interest costs...

Bottom line: The overall US economy is faring better than many expected after Trump launched his "Liberation Day" tariffs in 2025. But those import taxes and the impact of the US war with Iran have pushed up inflation, with the harmful effects felt by most American households...

Accounting for the combined impact on households' costs of 1) tariffs/Iran war, 2) federal health subsidy cuts 3) Trump's tax cuts - analysts estimate that most households are worse off than they would have been - apart from the top 1%, who benefited disproportionately from the tax cuts...

Monthly job creation has slowed down relative to the final year of Biden's presidency...

Though the US economy has been significantly helped by the AI boom...

And the impact of Trump's tariffs and the Iran war are pushing up US consumer inflation...

Growth is respectable - and has been stronger than the rest of the G7 since the end of 2024...

bbc.co.ukThe Global Story - Is Trump sacrificing Ukraine for cheaper diesel? - BBC SoundsAmerica’s pain at the pump could mean good news for Putin

Is Trump sacrificing Ukraine for cheaper diesel? I spoke to BBC World Service's The Global Story podcast about the geoeconomics of diesel 🎧👇... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.ukWhich war is having the biggest impact on diesel prices - Iran or Ukraine?Both conflicts have led to less diesel being exported - but the data shows more has been lost from the Middle East.

...More of our Verify research about the relative impact on diesel prices from the Iran/Ukraine wars www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We'll take a close look at: 🔌Energy prices 📋Regulation 💵 Taxes 🧑‍🔧Skills 🌇"Manchesterism" 🤖 AI And much more...

Ben Chu reposted

Anand Menon

@anandmenon.bsky.social

Some news. Honoured, delighted, excited and a little scared about this. Get in touch if you want to collaborate or have ideas about what we could and should be doing.....

Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social

📢 The @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social appoints a new director: @anandmenon.bsky.social will succeed @cergrant.bsky.social as director, taking over at the start of 2027.

Which conflict is having a bigger impact on diesel prices? ⛽📈💥 US-Iran or Ukraine-Russia? Donald Trump is blaming Ukraine-Russia and downplaying the US-Iran war... 1/7

kpler.comKpler | Real-Time Trade Intelligence Tools for Global MarketsUnlock global trade intelligence with Kpler’s real-time data on 40+ commodities, power markets, and maritime logistics, trusted by 10,000+ organisations.

Historic diesel export estimate figures are from Kpler...6/7 www.kpler.com

bbc.co.ukWhich war is having the biggest impact on diesel prices - Iran or Ukraine?Both conflicts have led to less diesel being exported - but the data shows more has been lost from the Middle East.

More analysis on BBC online 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... ENDS

Which conflict is having a bigger impact on diesel prices? ⛽📈💥 US-Iran or Ukraine-Russia? Donald Trump is blaming Ukraine-Russia and downplaying the US-Iran war... 1/7

Comparing the daily average in 2025 and September 2026 exports from Russia are down around 670k barrels a day compared with a fall of around 810k a day from the Middle East...4/7

The figures suggest the conflict with Iran has had a greater impact on the global drop in diesel export volumes than the Ukraine war - though analysts stress both are significant...5/7

Which conflict is having a bigger impact on diesel prices? ⛽📈💥 US-Iran or Ukraine-Russia? Donald Trump is blaming Ukraine-Russia and downplaying the US-Iran war... 1/7

Here's the data. In 2025, around 6.8m barrels of diesel per day were being exported to the global market In September 2026 exports had fallen to 5.8 million barrels per day - a decline of around 1m barrels per day...2/7

Diesel exports from Russia (orange bars) and Russia (red bars) have both fallen sharply over the past year contributing to that overall fall (even as US exports have risen)...3/7

An endorsement of Exile Economics as bed time reading - don’t have nightmares!

Ed Bryan@thejinjonator.bsky.social

I still read to our youngest. He’s 18. Currently sharing and discussing Exile Economics by @benchu.bsky.social