Can John Healey deliver the growth the UK needs? September 7, 2026 The Chancellor John Healey says growth will provide the “pathway out of indebtedness and into prosperity”. But the path is a difficult one to tread, write Mauricio Alencar. When it was announced that John Healey would be delivering a speech in Coventry, it was assumed that he would be visiting Jaguar Land Rovers’s headquarters with [...]
Healey says growth is ‘pathway out of debt’ but bats away tax questions September 7, 2026 Chancellor John Healey said he will “not speculate” on expected tax rises at his maiden Budget next month as he said growth was at the “heart of fiscal challenges” facing the UK. In his first major speech as Chancellor in Coventry, Healey batted away questions about whether businesses and households were set to face another [...]
UK jobs seekers rise despite recovery in permanent hiring September 7, 2026 Rising redundancies and heightened employment insecurity drove a sharp increase in UK job seekers in August despite the permanent hiring market showing its first signs of recovery in nearly four years. Total staff availability rose at its fastest rate in three months as Brits hunting for roles flooded the market. This influx was triggered by [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 inche up as oil holds gains; Healey says UK paying ‘Truss penalty’ September 7, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are returning from the weekend to weigh up the latest round of rising tensions in the Middle East after the US and Iran have continued to exchange strikes stoking fears of a hit to global oil supply. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – [...]
Healey launches £150m northern scale-up fund September 7, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is to pile £150m into start-ups in the North of England as part of the government’s bid to use devolution to drive economic growth. Healey will announce a new fund designed to back university spin outs and other start-ups in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. The Chancellor will announce the fund, [...]
Budget tax hikes would be ‘road to ruin,’ Healey warned September 6, 2026 A top business trade body has warned Chancellor John Healey that tax hikes at the October Budget would set the UK on the “road to ruin”. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has urged the Chancellor not to “pile more taxes on firms,” saying that the Treasury should instead cut the costs facing firms to [...]
Business confidence hits two-year high ahead of Budget September 6, 2026 Business confidence has risen to a near-two-year high as the output of UK firms grows despite the looming October Budget. The optimism of British firms has reached its highest level since just before the 2024 Autumn Budget, according to advisory firm BDO. Its business optimism index jumped to 94.22 in August, fuelled by a strong [...]
Britain ‘taxing itself to death,’ Burnham warned September 6, 2026 One of the US’ leading economists has warned Andy Burnham that Britain is “taxing itself to death” in a major intervention ahead of the October Budget. Arthur Laffer, a former economic adviser to three presidents, has warned that the UK is in a “death spiral” ahead of his visit to the country. He wrote in [...]
Has Reform managed to win over the City? September 5, 2026 Reform UK officials hope that its first-ever Business Day paid dividends at its conference. Maurício Alencar reports on a dramatic 72 hours in Birmingham and asks whether industry chiefs are satisfied with what they’ve heard and seen. Asked for an umbrella phrase to describe Reform’s economic philosophy, policy guru Dr James Orr responded that the [...]
Jenrick pledges to raise tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 September 5, 2026 Robert Jenrick has pledged to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 in his first budget as Chancellor if Reform UK is elected into government. In a speech on Saturday, Jenrick will say that the £21bn tax cut would show the party’s mission to “choose the worker”. He will add that Reform would [...]