Our economy remains in a perilous state June 12, 2025 With the long-awaited Spending Review, the UK Chancellor finally gets to reveal the goodies rather than simply be the baddie. But there will be one question lurking behind every line item, behind every pound pledged and every Treasury footnote: how are you going to pay for it?
UK economy shrinks more than expected in blow to Reeves June 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank more than expected in April, official data has shown, suggesting momentum built up in the beginning of this year has already worn away. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a 0.3 per cent contraction come off the back of a strong 0.7 per cent growth in [...]
Reeves’ spending spree could open £20bn gap – which taxes will rise? June 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves splashed the taxpayer cash in her inaugural Spending Review, raising expectations the Chancellor may be coming back for more tax revenue in the Autumn if her growth ambitions are not met. Reeves is set to hand out an extra £190bn in government spending over the course of the parliament, in what she described [...]
Brits to spend half a year waiting for Tax Freedom Day after Labour tax hikes June 12, 2025 Tax Freedom Day is set to be on the latest ever date within a matter of years, fresh research has revealed, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves showing no signs of cutting taxes in the near future, given inflated spending. Reeves unveiled billions more cash to be injected into several departments at yesterday’s Spending Review while funding [...]
Only roaring growth can save Reeves, and the country June 11, 2025 The Chancellor had been speaking for about five minutes when it dawned on me that she wasn’t going to say anything interesting. By the time she got to discussing the finer points of Southport’s pier and Kirkcaldy’s high street, I’d moved on to other things. That’s not to say that the Spending Review wasn’t interesting, [...]
Spending Review: Reeves leaves London short-changed June 11, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ inaugural Spending Review fell short for London, the capital’s business advocacy group has said. Reeves’ announcements on infrastructure, transport and skills were received warmly but BusinessLDN has said the Chancellor had failed to fully deliver, leaving the capital “short-changed”. The Spending Review included a four-year settlement for Transport for London with the [...]
Gold tops euro to become central banks’ second favourite reserve asset June 11, 2025 Central banks now hold more gold than euros in the face of global trade tensions and volatile markets, according to a report produced by the European Central Bank (ECB), making it the world’s second largest reserve asset after the US dollar. Purchases of gold were twice as high in 2024 as the average seen over [...]
Global growth to brake to ‘slowest pace’ since financial crash, World Bank says June 10, 2025 The world economy is heading for its worst year since the 2008 financial crash, the World Bank has predicted, as most major economies suffered a growth downgrade due to trade tensions sparked by President Trump’s tariffs. The UN-backed financial institution has predicted that global growth will come down to 2.3 per cent this year as [...]
Government told migrant partners are a drag on UK finances June 10, 2025 UK government ministers have been warned that migrants who arrive on partner and family visas are likelier to have a negative impact on public finances and essential services, including the NHS. The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has told the government that the vast majority of people on partner visas will be “fiscally negative” over [...]
Unemployment creeps up as firms cut jobs following Reeves tax raid June 10, 2025 The unemployment rate has crept up to 4.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent, official data has revealed, putting Chancellor Reeves’ ambition of growing the UK economy and getting people into work under threat. It is the highest unemployment rate in three years, with the UK economy then recovering from the pandemic. Figures released by [...]