Will the Autumn Budget push up inflation? October 30, 2025 For a few weeks, there was one thing Rachel Reeves appeared to speak about more than anything else: inflation. Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed inflation hit 3.8 per cent in the year to September, nearly double the Bank of England’s target rate. The IMF and the OECD said the UK [...]
Starmer reprimands Reeves for ‘inadvertent failure’ over rental licence mishap October 30, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has sent a sharply worded email to Rachel Reeves criticising the Chancellor for misleading suggestions that she did not know she needed a licence to rent out her family home. Reeves has had to backtrack from earlier suggestions that she and her husband had not been aware of the Southwark Council rental [...]
Tories call for Starmer to sack Rachel Reeves October 30, 2025 The Tories are calling for Keir Starmer to sack Rachel Reeves as Chancellor for breaking the law. In a ratcheting up of the political pressure on Reeves, the opposition party has said the Chancellor should be fired for failing to register her family home when she rented it out before moving to Downing Street. In [...]
Rachel Reeves considers income tax hike and national insurance cut October 30, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is eyeing up a simultaneous 2p hike to income tax and 2p cut to national insurance, it has been reported, in an effort to raise some £6bn. Reeves is considering the controversial tax hike, according to The Telegraph, which would breach the Labour Party manifesto and risk infuriating voters. It would also [...]
Labour’s Liz Kendall unveils record £55bn R&D boost for UK innovation October 30, 2025 Labour has announced a £55bn funding boost for science and technology, dubbing it the largest-ever long-term investment in UK research and development (R&D). The plan, confirmed today by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), will pour billions into British research agencies and innovation bodies through to 2030 – part of the government’s drive [...]
Mel Stride rules out electoral pact with Reform October 30, 2025 Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has insisted the Conservatives will not strike an electoral deal with Reform UK due to their “completely ruinous” economic agenda. In an interview with a new online magazine led by the centre-right think tank Bright Blue, Stride said his party should avoid “indulging in populist politics” and focus on calling out [...]
Business owners still plan staff cuts due to last year’s NICs raid October 30, 2025 Nearly half of business owners are still planning to reduce headcounts in response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £25bn tax hike on employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs), a new survey has indicated, pointing to the long-lasting economic effects of a brutal tax raid in her first Budget. Reeves made sweeping tax hikes last year to fund [...]
Badenoch stitched Starmer up like a kipper October 30, 2025 Kemi Badenoch scored a direct hit on Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday. In asking him if he could rule out raising income tax, VAT or national insurance she stitched him up like a kipper. She knew (we all knew) that he would decline the opportunity and the Tory leader knew that when she [...]
Pension tax grab could threaten retirement for millions October 30, 2025 A potential raid on pensions in the upcoming November Budget could cause pension funds to lose billions, threatening businesses and the retirement outcome for millions of Brits. UK pension funds could suffer a £50bn loss over the next five years if the Treasury decides to slash pension tax reliefs, according to analysis from wealth manager [...]
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out income tax raid at the Budget October 29, 2025 Keir Starmer dodged questions on whether Labour would raise income tax, VAT or national insurance, the clearest sign yet that the government is looking at breaking key party manifesto commitments on taxes. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch grilled Starmer on whether Rachel Reeves was laying the groundwork for an income tax raid [...]