Photo of William Keegan
William Keegan

William Keegan is the Observer's Senior Economics Commentator. He joined the paper in 1977 after nine years as Economics Correspondent of the Financial Times and a brief secondment to the Bank of England. His regular column – weekly.from 1978 and fortnighly since 2011 – is now in its 48th year. He is the author of many books, the most recent being Nine Crises: Fifty years Of Covering The British Economy From Devaluation To Brexit.

Photo of William Keegan

William Keegan

William Keegan is the Observer's Senior Economics Commentator. He joined the paper in 1977 after nine years as Economics Correspondent of the Financial Times and a brief secondment to the Bank of England. His regular column – weekly.from 1978 and fortnighly since 2011 – is now in its 48th year. He is the author of many books, the most recent being Nine Crises: Fifty years Of Covering The British Economy From Devaluation To Brexit.

  • William Keegan
    Mandelson’s murky dealings are a warning: don’t get too chummy with the money men

    When considering whether to relax lending rules introduced after the financial crisis, Rachel Reeves should heed the example of the business secretary who flew too close to the financiers

    Sat, 14 Feb 2026

  • William Keegan
    Amid chaos, Mark Carney was a voice of reason at Davos

    The Canadian prime minister’s speech at the World Economic Forum stressed the importance of the unity of ‘middle powers’

    Sat, 31 Jan 2026

  • William Keegan
    Labour needs to rediscover that EU membership works

    Nigel Farage may be riding high in the polls, but the damaging reality of Brexit is clear to see

    Fri, 16 Jan 2026

  • William Keegan
    The government’s fear of rejection should not scupper a return to the EU family

    The dilatory nature of the UK’s realignment efforts is becoming embarrassing

    Sun, 4 Jan 2026

  • William Keegan
    The best gift for our jobless young is a return to Europe

    The rise in UK youth unemployment reflects the lingering effects of Brexit and the necessity of rejoining the EU

    Sun, 21 Dec 2025

  • William Keegan
    Betting on fiscal drag won’t help the chancellor balance the economy

    Sat, 6 Dec 2025

  • William Keegan
    ‘Reset’ with the EU looks more like ‘upset’ as Brexit damage mounts

    Much of the trouble that they now find themselves in stems from the decision to throw in the towel

    Sun, 23 Nov 2025

  • William Keegan
    Reeves can no longer ignore ‘mammoth in the broom cupboard’

    With the economy weakened by Brexit, this is a dangerous time for the chancellor to start raising taxes

    Sun, 9 Nov 2025

  • William Keegan
    The chancellor has finally got the Brexit message, but only part of it

    Reeves has shared the dramatic news that the damage of Brexit imposes a serious constraint on her budgetary freedom

    Sun, 26 Oct 2025

  • William Keegan
    Reeves must do ‘whatever it takes’ to heal the UK economy

    There are even hysterical suggestions that the UK’s economic position is so serious that we may have to borrow from the IMF

    Sat, 11 Oct 2025

  • William Keegan
    Nigel Farage gets a taste of economic reality on his day out at the Bank

    Reform's leader is being pernicious in criticising Andrew Bailey for wanting the government to get closer to the EU

    Mon, 29 Sept 2025

  • William Keegan
    Mandelson came to praise Brexit. Merck just buried it

    Last week, the then ambassador to the US said that Brexit allowed Britain to get closer to the US – just as the drugs company withdrew billions of dollars of investment from the UK

    Sun, 14 Sept 2025

  • William Keegan
    Labour’s taking on Reform – and it’s about time too

    Starmer and Reeves should have the courage of their previous convictions and point out that Farage cannot be trusted

    Sun, 31 Aug 2025

  • William Keegan
    ‘A chancellor can change her mind on fiscal rules’

    It's important to distinguish between the obvious need to finance increases in public later and policy choices now

    Sun, 17 Aug 2025

  • William Keegan
    Why Reeves would do best to bank on Bailey

    The chancellor needs to work in partnership with the Bank of England to encourage growth

    Sun, 3 Aug 2025

  • William Keegan
    Why Reeves would do best to bank on Bailey

    The chancellor needs to work in partnership with the Bank of England to encourage growth

    Sat, 2 Aug 2025

  • William Keegan
    Reeves’s taxing problems can be fixed by a customs union

    There is a lever the chancellor can pull to galvanise economic growth. Will she?

    Sun, 20 Jul 2025

  • William Keegan
    ‘Big, beautiful bill’ will have ugly results

    Analysts concerned by the US piling up debt and the impact on its creditworthiness in bond and foreign exchange markets

    Sun, 6 Jul 2025

  • William Keegan
    PM’s Trump realpolitik looks like appeasement

    The US president’s tariff wars undermine the point of G7 and global cooperation – and it’s embarrassing to watch our PM trying to scrape a deal

    Sat, 21 Jun 2025

  • William Keegan
    William Keegan: ‘We’ve reset Brexit. Now let’s reboot Britain’

    Last week’s easing of EU trade restrictions should be just the first step towards re-entry to the customs union and single market

    Mon, 26 May 2025

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