Big Tech braces as Keir Starmer flirts with Australia-style social media ban December 22, 2025 According to reports, Keir Starmer is weighing up an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s, as ministers reassess how far the UK should go in regulating online platforms for kids. The prime minister has previously said he was “personally” opposed to a blanket ban, arguing that the focus should be on controlling content instead. [...]
Private sector slump to drag on to Spring 2026, businesses say December 22, 2025 UK business leaders have warned that the sharp downturn in the private sector is likely to continue until Spring 2026, after firms put plans for future investment on ice in the run-up to the Labour government’s Autumn Budget. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) anticipates private sector output to fall in the fourth quarter after [...]
GSK strikes deal to cut drug prices with US government December 22, 2025 GSK has struck a voluntary agreement with the US government to lower the cost of prescription medicines and expand access to treatments for millions of Americans. The move comes as pressure mounts on global drugmakers over pricing, tariffs, and domestic investment. The London-listed pharma giant said the deal covers medicines used by over 40m US [...]
UK economic growth downgraded for second quarter December 22, 2025 Growth in the UK economy was revised downwards on Monday after fresh figures revealed economy expanded less than initially thought in the second quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) cut the UK’s economic growth in the three months to June to 0.2 per cent from 0.3 per cent previously. The third quarter’s sluggish 0.1 [...]
Eurostar’s new AI chatbot left customers exposed December 22, 2025 Eurostar’s shiny new AI chatbot was billed as a smarter way of helping customers. But the bot was shipped with old-fashioned security flaws that could have left customers exposed, and for weeks, nobody at the train operator seemed willing to listen. City AM can reveal that multiple security flaws were found in Eurostar’s public-facing AI [...]
In pictures: City of London sets record-breaking year for skyscrapers December 22, 2025 The City of London Corporation received a record-breaking number of applications for skyscrapers this year as demand for premium office space continues to grow in the capital. To meet future demand, the authority has laid out a goal to build an extra 1.2m sqm of new office space over the coming years. The Square Mile will [...]
Will the AI bubble burst in 2026? We ask the experts December 22, 2025 The question of whether we are in an AI bubble and, if so, when exactly it might burst has dominated conversation in the City in recent months. Who better to turn to for answers than some of the UK’s finest stockpickers and strategists? The year 2025 was not a quiet one for markets. It started [...]
Crane drain: Construction falls to 10-year low December 22, 2025 Commercial property development in the UK has plunged to its lowest level in over a decade, as tighter monetary conditions and sparse demand continue to weigh on construction. According to a fresh analysis from Costar, just 68m square feet of offices, industrial and retail sites was being developed at the end of September, a 16 [...]
How sport and athletes can show the realities of neurodiversity December 21, 2025 Sport and athletes like Simone Biles, Lewis Hamilton and Lucy Bronze can play a key role in reframing attitudes on neurodiversity, writes Matt Readman. Earlier this month Wes Streeting announced a review into how the UK is currently diagnosing mental health conditions, jumping on the bandwagon of those questioning whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”. [...]
Know your OBR from your CPS? Take City AM’s politics quiz of 2025 December 20, 2025 Welcome to City AM‘s politics quiz of 2025, a year where Keir Starmer said his best moment in office was walking into Downing Street, Kemi Badenoch got Northern Ireland’s voting record on Brexit wrong and Nigel Farage admitted he did not own property in his constituency. There have been many other errors, blunders and mishaps [...]