Tories consult senior barrister over ‘outrageous’ Wandsworth tax hike Legal Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservative party has consulted a senior barrister to challenge the government over local funding cuts, following the recent controversy over looming tax hikes at Wandsworth Council. Wandsworth Council, which is Tory-run, has recently announced that taxes will rise by 94 per cent for ‘band D’ residents, resulting in taxpayers having [...]
As it happened: Stocks slip as London’s rally loses momentum FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks in London fell this morning as a three-day rally faded and erased much of the gains made following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates yesterday. The FTSE 100 was trading down nearly one per cent at 12:50pm, dragged lower by falls for Shell [...]
Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ Retail Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Why it could now cost more to sack an executive in the UK than FRANCE September 17, 2026 Labour’s overhaul of employment rights, particularly the removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap, could leave British businesses facing a higher bill for dismissing executives than their European counterparts. As the government pushed its Employment Rights Bill into law, it ditched the £118,000 compensation limit on unfair dismissal claims to appease unions after the House [...]
Federal Reserve earns rebuke from Trump after interest rate hike September 17, 2026 Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 and effectively pencilled in another hike this year, defying President Trump’s demands for looser monetary policy. On Wednesday, Warsh joined a unanimous decision to raise the US’s central rate by 25 basis points – or a quarter of a percentage point [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 soars after Bank of England holds interest rates September 17, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Investors responded positively to the Bank of England’s widely tipped decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that volatile energy prices caused by the Iran war will push inflation up further than its current 3.1 [...]
Sir James Cleverly: London needs its mojo back September 17, 2026 Council takeovers in Westminster and Wandsworth have offered the Tories a new confidence boost in London. Sir James Cleverly, once close to becoming party leader, speaks to Maurício Alencar about his ambition to lead the Conservatives into the next London mayoral election in 2028. Unprompted, Sir James Cleverly insists it’s “nonsense” that London is a [...]
Interest rates look set to be held amid bond market pressure September 17, 2026 The Bank of England is expected to leave Interest rates unchanged even as bond traders raised expectations for upcoming hikes and the Federal Reserve opted to tighten monetary policy in the US. The Bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee is expected to back leaving interest rates at 3.75 per cent although policymakers are set to be [...]
Former Anthropic researcher behind ‘AI could kill us’ warning called to UK parliament September 16, 2026 Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon has been invited to give evidence to parliament following his stark warnings over the threat posed by AI, City AM understands. Liam Byrne, chair of the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, told City AM that MPs have asked Coxon to appear as part of a parliamentary examination of AI [...]
Home secretary donor reprimanded by accountancy regulator September 16, 2026 An accountancy firm director was severely reprimanded by the regulator and handed a £14,000 fine for breaching accountancy standards. Andeep Mangal, director of Birmingham-based accountancy firm Thapers Chartered Accountants, received a severe reprimand and a £14,000 fine on Wednesday for two separate allegations, and was ordered to pay a further £11,455 in costs to the [...]