Rachel Reeves puts £240m into new back to work ‘trailblazers’ October 29, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a £240m funding boost for the rollout of local services tasked with getting the long-term sick back into work. Ahead of the Budget, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that tackling rising economic inactivity would be a core economic priority for his government. “We will always help those who cannot support [...]
Shop prices fall further in October despite fashion recovery October 29, 2024 According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), shop prices fell 0.8 per cent in the year-to-October.
Wealth tax ‘could cost the UK £100bn in 10 years’ October 29, 2024 The UK is especially vulnerable to the ill effects of a wealth tax and could suffer a near £100bn hit to its GDP in a decade were one introduced, a paper out today has argued. A two per cent tax applied to those with a net wealth of £10m would incur a 0.4 per cent [...]
Labour’s national insurance hike could cost workers hundreds October 28, 2024 HMRC's projections suggest that a two percentage point hike to employers' national insurance would raise £18bn.
Jeremy Hunt accuses OBR of making a ‘political intervention’ over Labour’s blackhole review October 28, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has used the supposed existence of the £22bn blackhole as a justification to hike taxes in Wednesday's Budget.
House prices rising slowly but 2024 still a ‘bumper year’ October 28, 2024 2024 is set to be a “bumper year” for house sales thanks to rising real incomes and lower mortgage rates, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. The level of new sales has increased to its highest level since late 2020, the survey showed. There are 306,000 homes currently working through the buying process, 26 [...]
Why businesses are nervous ahead of the Budget October 28, 2024 Businesses are wary as Chancellor Rachel Reeves puts the final touches to her first Budget.
Reeves fiscal rule change puts economy in danger of ‘crumbling’, City analyst warns October 28, 2024 "Tinkering with the definition of borrowing could be a big, if temporary, win," Nick Winters, a partner at Blick Rothenburg said.
Labour’s pro-business boasts ring hollow October 28, 2024 Rachel Reeves once vowed that if Labour won they “would be the most pro-business government this country has ever seen”. With just two days to go until the Budget, that pre-election pledge appears to be in the gutter. Reassuring the business community was an essential part of Labour’s pitch for power, but almost everything they’ve [...]
US and European interest rate cuts hang in the balance ahead of crunch week October 27, 2024 Key economic figures in the US and Europe are set to give investors clues on how much further both regions' central banks could go in cutting interest rates this year.