Reeves vows UK will ‘beat G7 at AI adoption’ as she searches for growth agenda March 16, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will promise that the UK will beat G7 counterparts in adopting AI over the coming years with fresh investment set to focus on quantum computing and researchers specialising in healthcare, clean energy and national security. In a speech on Tuesday afternoon, Reeves is expected to set out the government’s AI ambitions to [...]
‘Digging a hole then filling it in’ – Labour to subsidise youth employment March 16, 2026 The Labour government is set to hand businesses cash to hire benefits claimants in a bid to lower the number of under-25s not in education, employment and training, otherwise referred to as ‘Neets’. Pat McFadden, the work and pension secretary, unveiled a new £3,000 subsidy scheme for employers taking on young people who have not been [...]
‘What do they have to hide?’ Ministers must not scrap regulatory watchdog March 16, 2026 The Regulatory Policy Committee keeps a close eye on government red tape, and scrapping it would be a serious mistake – says Andrew Griffith. Red tape is strangling British business. A survey just out from the Federation of Small Businesses has found small firms and entrepreneurs collectively spend 379 million hours a year complying with [...]
Starmer: ‘Viable plan’ needed for Trump’s Strait of Hormuz request March 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he is still in discussions to draw up a “viable, collective plan” with European allies in response to President Trump’s call for help in the Strait of Hormuz. In a press conference on Monday, the Prime Minister insisted that the country would “not be drawn into the wider war” in [...]
Starmer urged to tighten law on Slapps following Mandelson scandal March 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tighten the law to prevent the powerful and wealthy from stopping stories about them, following the Lord Mandelson scandal. A dozen Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister to ensure that strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as Slapps, is included in the King’s Speech in May. [...]
‘Pressure point’: Oil prices spike as Trump turns up heat on Nato March 16, 2026 The price of oil spiked once more as trading for the new week began after Donald Trump ramped up pressure on his Nato peers to help get supply flowing. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped 2.9 per cent as trading open after the weekend to near $106.12 a barrel, but later gave [...]
Small businesses ‘lose 379m hours a year’ on red tape March 16, 2026 Small businesses lose around 379m hours a year and spend around £36bn a year on dealing with red tape, new research has indicated, piling pressure on the Labour government to fast-track its deregulatory drive. Business secretary Peter Kyle has emphasised that the government remains committed to reducing the regulatory burden on businesses by up to [...]
Labour told to scrap ‘arbitrary’ inheritance tax system March 15, 2026 The UK government is being urged to scrap the inheritance tax system following warnings that that it enforces the UK as a “high-tax outlier” and risks stifling investment and driving entrepreneurs abroad. A new report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) highlights that nearly half of the 38 OECD countries – where members are [...]
Children today will ‘work until 75’ amid pensions timebomb, think tank warns March 15, 2026 Children currently in primary school are set to work until the age of 75 as the “collapsing” birthrate blows a black hole in public finances, a think tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has released a report claiming the UK is heading towards a “demographic cliff edge”. The report suggests the state [...]
Ed Miliband rejects ‘totally false’ calls to drill North Sea March 15, 2026 Ed Miliband has dismissed calls for the UK to exploit the North Sea’s oil supply, despite widespread calls to drill the area as fears of an energy shock rise amidst the war in the Middle East. The energy secretary said: “Some people want to go around and pretend that if we only we draw more [...]