Burnham calls for honesty then sticks his head in the sand Politics Andy Burnham declared this week that “change begins with honesty.” My ears pricked up. Was our new Prime Minister about to deliver some hard truths? Of course he wasn’t. The honesty Burnham had in mind was very much “his truth” rather than “the truth.” We were told that all the country’s problems were down to [...]
A Gulf Trade Agreement could accelerate UK data centre development Partner A newly inked trade agreement between the UK and Gulf region offers tantalizing potential for collaboration as the race to build data centres heats up. Data centres, like Amazon warehouses before them, are simultaneously springing up everywhere, vital to current consumer and business trends, and wildly unpopular with the public. But despite these objections, the [...]
As Sir Keir Starmer quits parliament, will Zack Polanski replace him? Politics Sir Keir Starmer is set to resign as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in order to focus on work in defence and international affairs. The former Prime Minister told the Camden New Journal that he would focus on issues such as “defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world” after leaving parliament. [...]
‘They want business on board’: How Reform UK is wooing City chiefs at its conference September 1, 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is on a mission to win over businesses before the next election. Maurício Alencar and Ali Lyon report on how the party’s upcoming conference in Birmingham could determine its political future. By the time Britain’s executives descend on the Reform UK party conference this week, many will already be well-acquainted with [...]
FCA bans wealth manager trio behind £35.5m investor visa scam August 26, 2026 The financial watchdog has banned and fined a trio of former wealth managers after discovering they operated a scheme designed to help clients slip past UK investor visa rules. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that three Dolfin Financial executives had run a scheme designed to create the false impression that visa requirements to enter [...]
‘We’d love an apprentice – but the government has made it too expensive’ August 26, 2026 Small companies around Britain are facing a cost of business crisis. Bowers & Jones, an award-winning manufacturing firm, tells City AM that changes to the minimum wage have priced it out of employing apprentices. When Jane Somerville led a management buyout of her manufacturing firm and shifted its entire factory across the West Midlands in [...]
Public sector makes wage growth higher than expected August 18, 2026 Wage growth was higher than expected as pay offers in the public sector far outweighed growth in the private sector, new data has revealed. Official statistics have shown that wage growth, including bonuses, reached 4.1 per cent between April and June compared to a market forecast of four per cent. This was still lower than [...]
Nigel Farage wins in Clacton – and triggers investigation August 14, 2026 Nigel Farage’s re-election has triggered a parliamentary investigation into his financial affairs after he swept to victory in the Clacton by-election. The Reform UK leader won with over 11,000 more votes than the novelty candidate Count Binface, who was the main opposition after every other major party refused to take part in the poll. The [...]
Brompton Bicycle sues former adviser for ‘professional negligence’ August 13, 2026 Folding bike firm Brompton Bicycle is set to sue its former accounting and tax advisor AAB Group for professional negligence, City AM can reveal. London-based Brompton has launched legal action in the High Court against the Scottish-headquartered business advisory firm, according to court records. The defendants are listed as AAB Business & Tax Advisory LLP, [...]
‘Cost of business crisis’ as government drives up overheads by 70 per cent in a decade August 11, 2026 British companies are facing a “cost of business crisis” as a string of controversial government policies have pushed up an average firm’s expenses by 70 per cent in a decade, one of the country’s largest industry bodies has found. A typical-mid-sized firm is now paying roughly £827,000 more a year than they were in 2016 [...]