Top Ten (Free) Sources of Economic News
By TruePublica Editor: One of the most-read articles TruePublica has published over the years was about independent news sources in the UK, written in 2018 and then updated in 2020, 2021 and then again in 2024. We have been asked on a few occasions to publish another article on free sources of economic news relating also to inflation, the cost of living and more.
This article is about identifying these news sources to help navigate a rapidly changing news environment within the economy. Given that “Follow the money” is a catchphrase popularised by the 1976 docudrama film All the President’s Men (which suggested that political corruption can be brought to light by examining money transfers between parties), the economy is driven by the interests of all sorts of vested parties both good and bad in all sorts of ways.
This article is designed to help you navigate different sources of news and shape your worldview so that you can make up your own mind about what is fact and what is fiction.
There is no doubt that over the last decade, there has been a government-led climate of hostility towards oppositional voices, which has included the increase of draconian libel laws and discernible censorship. This has led to a once vigorous environment of independent news in the UK, which has withered away, unlike many other democratic countries.
As for the corporate media, Britain is now known to be one of the worst countries in Western Europe for overall press freedom, evidenced by its place in the 2023 global press freedom ranks, where the UK stands at 26th behind countries like Namibia (22nd), Samoa (19th) and Timor-Lest (10th). The fact that we live in a ‘post-truth world,’ primarily driven by social media – trust in traditional sources of news has collapsed. And with deepfakes, artificial intelligence and other systems of misinformation gathering pace, it’s not difficult to understand why many people are both confused and concerned about genuine news reporting.
To identify these top ten sources of economic news – we have used certain criteria to reach these results. However, these recommendations are not about the daily news cycle, which is now 24/7, these recommendations are about acquiring information about what is really going on in the real world, both domestically and internationally – as best as we can.
First, I’ve stayed away from the apparent tin-foil hat brigade and those on the political sphere of the hard left or hard right. Whilst some of the ‘alternative media’ have decent output, I am not recommending news sources that have published flat-earth anti-vax click-bait stories.
There are things to read and not be too suspicioous about. For instance, the UK Treasury funds the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR is a non-departmental public body that analyses the UK’s public finances and economic forecasts independently. It has been at loggerheads on occasions with the previous incumbents in government. As forecasting is notoriously difficult to get right (think pandemic, Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Gaza etc), sometimes a pinch of salt helps every now and again.
In contrast, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) receives funding from a variety of sources, including non-profit and non-political and receives funding from a range of sources, including the Economic and Social Research Council, UK government departments, foundations, the European Research Council, international organisations, companies and other non-profit organisations.
One criterion not used for this article is website numbers – this article is purely for pointing readers in a direction they might not know about to gather new information – not the most popular sources by hits.
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I’ve also included the London School of Economics with a pointer to their free economic blogs. The LSE gives a different angle to politics and political policy, which is definitely worth a look.
In my opinion, the top ten sources of free economic news (in no particular order) in Britain are:
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is one of the UK’s leading independent economics research institute. Its world-class research helps policymakers – and those who hold them accountable – understand the impact that policy decisions have on individuals, households and businesses.
LINK TO: IFS
Office for Budget Responsibility
The Office for Budget Responsibility was created in 2010 to provide an independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. It is one of a growing number of official independent fiscal watchdogs around the world.
It produces detailed five-year forecasts for the economy and public finances twice yearly. The forecasts accompany the Budget Statement (usually in late November) and the Spring Statement (usually in March). They incorporate the impact of any tax and spending measures announced in those statements by the Chancellor.
Office For National Statistics
The ONS are the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics, and it’s a recognised national statistical institute. They are responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional and local levels. They also conduct the census in England and Wales every 10 years.
London School of Economics (blogs)
A multidisciplinary academic blog run by the London School of Economics and Political Science. Their central aim is to increase the public understanding of British politics and policy by providing accessible academic commentary and research. They state they have no editorial “line” beyond a commitment to communicating social science research and commentary in ways that enhance public debate and understanding.
LINK TO: LSE ECONOMY and SOCIETY
The Economic Observatory
The Economics Observatory (ECO) is a new project that bridges the gap between academic research, government policy and the general public. Their goal is to provide balanced and reliable answers to questions about the economy. They make it their mission to make these answers as accessible and engaging as possible. The ECO team are drawn from across the countries and regions of the UK, with a hub in Bristol. By publishing daily articles, videos and charts, we believe ECO can help the public and policymakers better understand the numerous challenges facing countries around the world today.
Reuters Finance
Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organisations and has delivered news to financial institutions for 170 years. Much of the international economic news you read about is derived from these reports (and then possibly skewed via an agenda) so this is a good place to get source news.
LINK TO: REUTERS FINANCE PAGES
House of Commons Library
The Hoise of Commons Library dashboard allows you to investigate how the UK economy has performed over the past 70 years, including during the coronavirus pandemic. It features the latest data and is updated regularly.
For each topic, links are provided to relevant Library briefings and Office for National Statistics (ONS) publications for further information. Data can be downloaded as spreadsheets (csv files). There is a monthly economic update. Insights also summarises how the economy is performing.
LINK TO: HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY
TruePublica
To be fair, TruePublica is not dedicated to the economy. However, it is heavily skewed towards what is known as political economy. This is the study of how political and economic factors interact to influence society and the economy. It derives from political science, economics, and sociology to analyse the relationships between individuals, governments, markets and, ultimately, how that affects us all.
Statista
Statista is a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on over 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries. Established in Germany in 2007, Statista operates in 13 locations worldwide. However, although you can get a lot of free information is does have a paywall for certain datasets. Its been included because there is a lot available that is free to view.
Trading Economics
LINK TO: TRADING ECONOMICS (UK PAGES)
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The European Financial Review
The European Financial Review is the leading financial intelligence magazine read widely by financial experts and the wider business community.