Labour ministers ordered to stop relying on emergency funds October 9, 2025 Labour ministers have been told they will be blocked from using the government’s reserve funds to pay public sector staff and will only be given cash in exceptional circumstances. James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has told colleagues across the Cabinet that access to rainy day funds will be limited as the government [...]
Labour’s unemployment benefit reforms could ‘save £3bn a year’ October 9, 2025 A government proposal to replace the unemployment benefits system with an “unemployment insurance” benefit could save the government up to £3bn a year despite being higher than the current new style jobseeker’s allowance payment, a new report has indicated. Labour officials are mulling over plans to cut the welfare bill to reduce the size of [...]
Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish stamp duty October 8, 2025 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish stamp duty on primary residences to help support people moving into their first home as she centred her speech on backing people wishing to “get ahead in life”. In a speech delivered to Conservative Party members at its Manchester conference, Badenoch said the Tories would cut stamp [...]
Former CPS top lawyer: China spy case ‘does not add up’ October 8, 2025 Public prosecutors have said a Chinese spy case involving Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was dropped due the lack of evidence provided by the Labour government on labelling the country a threat. The Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) tried to take evidence from the government “over many months” [...]
Kemi Badenoch pledges ‘golden rule’ to cut deficit October 8, 2025 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will reveal her plan to reduce the public deficit will be a “golden rule” in a crucial speech setting out her party’s hopes to regain voters’ trust on the UK economy. Addressing Conservative Party members on Wednesday, Badenoch is set to lay out a central mission underpinning hopes of reviving the [...]
Reeves must reject this finger-wagging, fun-sapping, tax-loving nonsense October 8, 2025 The Chancellor may have felt in need of a stiff drink after absorbing the latest productivity figures handed to her by the Office for Budget Responsibility, and who could blame her? The OBR is widely expected to have significantly downgraded its productivity forecasts while at the same time conceding that it’s been overestimating productivity growth [...]
Badenoch preferred as Prime Minister over Starmer October 8, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has been handed a boost ahead of her make-or-break Tory conference speech today as fresh polling has shown the Tory leader is preferred as Prime Minister over Keir Starmer. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy survey has shown that Badenoch leads Starmer by two percentage points as the country’s preferred Prime Minister, a marginal [...]
London maintains its commanding lead as largest foreign exchange centre October 7, 2025 London has maintained its commanding lead as the world’s largest foreign exchange centre, holding nearly double the US’s share. According to the latest data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), daily foreign exchange trading in London reached $4,745bn this year, with its global market share of 38.7 per cent nearly twice that of the [...]
Labour’s tobacco bill risks empowering black market, warns shadow minister October 7, 2025 The Labour government’s proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill could hand a significant boost to criminal gangs and fuel the growing black market in illicit goods across the UK, the shadow policing minister has warned. Matt Vickers MP has told City AM that the legislation, aimed at curbing smoking and youth vaping, fails to address the [...]
Jenrick pledges to sack judges accused of pro-migration activism October 7, 2025 Robert Jenrick announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as “pro-migration bias” in the judiciary, vowing to remove so-called “activist” judges. Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, claims to have identified more than 30 judges, both full-time and part-time, who previously volunteered for or provided free legal services to open-border organisations. He told the crowd [...]