Public sector pay outpaces private amid Budget pressures October 14, 2025 Public sector pay has outstripped private sector pay on an annual basis, according to new official data, with the added pressures on public finances set to force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to hike taxes at the Budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said annual average regular earnings growth was 4.4 per cent for the private [...]
Goldman Sachs chief warns Rachel Reeves against bank tax October 14, 2025 The boss of Goldman Sachs has warned Chancellor Rachel Reeves that an increase to the financial burden slapped on the banking sector would dent economic growth ambitions. In a private meeting with the Chancellor, David Solomon said hitting the industry with higher taxes would dampen wider prospects for the country’s growth. The remarks come ahead [...]
Unemployment rises as concerns grow for UK jobs market October 14, 2025 The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.8 per cent in September, while the inactivity rate was 21 per cent, “largely unchanged” on the previous quarter but below levels seen a year ago. The estimated number of vacancies in the UK also fell by 9,000, marking the 39th consecutive period of job posting declines. The ONS [...]
Nigel Farage vows to make savings before tax cuts October 13, 2025 Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has vowed to make sweeping spending cuts before cutting taxes for Brits while hitting out at “cretins” for imposing too much regulation in the City in comments that reflect his moves to take on economic policy head-on. Farage said the party’s next manifesto would be “fully-costed”, a statement that reflects the [...]
Andrew Bailey: Stock markets could crash if debt levels spiral October 13, 2025 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned that stock markets could suffer a “disorderly adjustment” due to spiralling debt levels and other vulnerabilities. Ahead of a seminal week in Washington DC where global financial leaders are set to discuss the future of multilateralism, Bailey said bullish markets and spiralling sovereign debt levels had left [...]
Can Liverpool really add £10bn to its economy? October 13, 2025 The Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region has unveiled a 10-year plan to create tens of thousands of jobs and add £10bn to the local economy. Steve Rotheram’s “bold and ambitious” plan has been described as a “roadmap” to increasing wages, driving investment, raising living standards and providing better services for the region’s 1.6m [...]
A harmful budget risks shattering IPO revival, Cavendish chief warns October 13, 2025 The boss of a London-listed investment bank has warned Rachel Reeves must be “careful” her budget policies do not damage the recuperating IPO market. Speaking to City AM at City & Financial Global’s Capital Markets Summit, Julian Morse, chief executive of Cavendish, said: “The main driver [of the IPO market] is the economy, so if [...]
Reeves considers tax breaks for startups in effort to preserve headroom October 13, 2025 Reports have suggested that Rachel Reeves is considering offering entrepreneurs new tax reliefs as she tries to stimulate growth in the economy and unlock productivity. As part of an effort to limit the damage to the current headroom of £9.9bn due to productivity downgrades by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Reeves is reportedly discussing [...]
Finance chiefs fear UK is falling behind as Labour growth push falls flat October 13, 2025 UK finance chiefs believe the country is falling behind rivals as costs are stacking up and squeezing profit margins, a new survey has shown, with further alarm bells ringing that businesses are losing faith in Labour’s drive for growth. The government has moved to curry favour with top investment bosses as Rachel Reeves met the [...]
Rachel Reeves urged to levy one-off wealth tax October 13, 2025 Researchers say Rachel Reeves should introduce a one-off wealth tax to avoid the “direct disincentive” of an annual levy. But the Chancellor risks wreaking havoc on the UK economy unless she breaks Labour manifesto commitments and introduces vast reforms to the wider tax system, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). [...]