City chiefs warn Healey bank tax hike could drive businesses out of UK October 9, 2026 Top finance industry chiefs have warned the Chancellor that hiking taxes on the banking sector in the forthcoming Budget could drive businesses and capital out of the UK. Bosses of the City’s biggest industry bodies – including UK Finance, TheCityUK and the CBI – have written to John Healey calling for him to avoid raising [...]
Minister denies Labour’s tax hikes behind youth unemployment October 8, 2026 The Labour government’s £25bn hike in taxes paid by employers is not the main driver behind rising youth unemployment, a government minister told City AM. Baroness Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said that changes in NICs and minimum wages have not been the main drivers behind a rise in unemployment rates for people under the [...]
Badenoch puts Tories on difficult path to the right destination October 8, 2026 Party conference season has come to an end, having barely registered for most voters beyond an extra dose of politics on the news and in their feeds. Party leaders always have to balance two audiences: their supporters in the hall and the sceptics at home. As a new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham’s conference speech was [...]
Employers yearn for growth as jobs market stages ‘fragile recovery’ October 8, 2026 The UK jobs market is beginning to “flicker back to life,” a new report has said, after permanent and temporary placings inched up in the last month. The latest jobs report from KPMG and recruiter REC showed permanent hiring grew for the second consecutive month to a four-year high of 50.9. Meanwhile, temporary billings also [...]
Badenoch vows to end inheritance tax on family homes October 7, 2026 Kemi Badenoch has announced that the Tories will scrap inheritance taxes on family homes if the party is elected. In her main address to party members at the Conservatives’ conference, she said the Conservatives would restore “common sense” as political leaders enter a “battle for the soul of this nation”. The new pledge on inheritance [...]
Labour’s band-aid won’t save the justice system from collapse October 7, 2026 When the buildings designed to deliver justice are infested with rats, it is no surprise that the system itself is rotting from the inside out, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The terrible state of the justice system is by now well understood, but with the government’s most controversial plan to relive the pressure now partially scrapped, the [...]
Will anyone turn Badenoch’s looming battle into a tapestry? October 7, 2026 The Tory party has been enjoying itself in Birmingham, not least thanks to the delightful wheeze of mocking up the Bayeux Tapestry to tell the story of British politics under Labour’s first two years in power. The exhibition may well prove to be among the most popular offerings at the party conference; behind Jeremy Clarkson [...]
Stages of tax grief: Is it time for bankers to bargain? October 7, 2026 Banks are in the firing line at the Budget and in a meeting with bosses on Tuesday chancellor John Healey played coy on any increased rates. In this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at what trade-off could be made. Also on the cards, fresh data shows fintechs are lurching ahead of the incumbents on customer [...]
UK AI health rules could give firms ‘competitive edge’ as ministers back overhaul October 6, 2026 Experts have said Britain’s new approach to regulating AI in healthcare could give UK tech firms a “competitive edge” by letting them prove their technology in the NHS earlier. The UK government on Tuesday accepted all 44 recommendations of the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, paving the way for a shake-up [...]
Badenoch to offer tax cuts as Tories pitch ‘credible alternative’ to Labour October 6, 2026 Expectations are growing that Kemi Badenoch will announce “multiple” tax cuts in her flagship speech at the Conservative Party conference, with announcements on national insurance and inheritance tax set to take centre stage. The Tory leader is looking to boost her support base among Britain’s middle classes as she warned that an early election would [...]