Will the Budget push the economy off the cliff? November 13, 2025 Downing Street is in chaos and the economy has flatlined. Now, with just a couple of weeks to go until we find out what’s really in Rachel Reeves’ Budget, Britain’s bosses are getting restless. It used to be the case that Chancellor’s went quiet in the run-up to a Budget, keeping their powder dry and [...]
Rachel Reeves must resign if she hikes income tax November 6, 2025 Exactly a year ago today, which was exactly a week after Rachel Reeves’ first Budget – I wrote that the Chancellor’s policies would give Brits the hangover from hell. So, one year on, how are you feeling? My reference to a hangover was inspired by the government’s absurd post-Budget boast that they’d taken a penny [...]
How to actually grow the economy October 23, 2025 In this special edition of The Week in Business, City AM Editor Christian May talks to Lord Matthew Elliott about his new book, co-authored with Dr Arthur Laffer, Douglas McWilliams and Lord Michael Hintze: Prosperity Through Growth – Boosting Living Standards in an Age of Autocracy and AI. The book is based on interviews with [...]
Rachel Reeves and the tax and spend doom loop October 16, 2025 Rachel Reeves isn’t going to introduce a Wealth Tax, but she is going to tax the wealthy. She isn’t going to impose austerity, but she is going to get spending under control. Confused? Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s only going to ramp up from here. This [...]
China spying scandal: What the hell is going on? October 9, 2025 The head of MI5 warns that Chinese spying in the UK is taking place on “an epic scale” – yet the government can’t bring itself to describe China as a threat. What the hell is going on? Sir Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, doesn’t make many speeches in public. As one of Britain’s [...]
Has the wind shifted on Net Zero? October 2, 2025 Once upon a time the promise of Net Zero enjoyed such universal support that a Tory government signed the UK’s Net Zero pledge into law. Today, the Tories say they’d scrap it – while alarm bells are ringing as the costs of the policy become clearer. In June 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May passed a [...]
Watch: Is the UK at risk of recession? September 25, 2025 We were told this would be the most pro-business government in the history of the country – so why have a gang of top chief executives this week fired warning shots at the Treasury – and why has one of them warned that we’re heading into a recession? It wasn’t supposed to be like this. [...]
Was this actually Starmer’s best week? September 18, 2025 £150bn of investment has been pledged by US giants, itching to pour their money into the UK – including more than £30bn to turbocharge our artificial intelligence base. The choreography was masterful, and I don’t just mean the military and Royal welcome dolled out to the Trumps and their entourage, although it was pretty spectacular. [...]
Boardroom Uncovered: How Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget tax hikes are hurting businesses September 12, 2025 On this episode of Boardroom Uncovered, the chief executive of Butlin's has revealed where in the UK the holiday resort chain could open a new site in the future.
Week in Business: Businesses flee high-tax Britain September 11, 2025 On the same day that Reeves said "there's no growth without investment", a pharma giant pulled its £1bn London investment plans.