Changing tune: Now Reeves refuses to rule out future tax rises December 3, 2024 Rachel Reeves has repeatedly declined to guarantee that there will be no more borrowing or tax rises following her first Budget, despite being pressed by MPs on her previous pledge. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in November, the Chancellor sought to reassure business leaders that there would be no repeat of [...]
From porridge to pizza: Junk food ban will have ‘inevitable impact on growth’ – advertisers warn December 3, 2024 A pre-watershed ban on advertising junk food will have an “inevitable impact” on the UK’s “wider economic growth”, an advertising industry body has warned. The government claims the new policy, which will come into force from October 2025, will prevent an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity. Legislation published on Tuesday afternoon reveals the broad [...]
Employers warn of workers’ rights reform and Budget double whammy November 26, 2024 Businesses are concerned about the aggregate cost of changes to workers’ rights and the cumulative impact of Budget measures, MPs have been told. The committee of MPs scrutinising the Labour government’s employment rights legislation took evidence from business groups, industry representatives and trade unions on Tuesday. And they were warned the combination of reforms to [...]
McVitie’s biscuits boss dunks on UK as investment destination November 25, 2024 The boss of the company behind biscuit giants McVitie’s, Jacobs and Carr’s has warned that the UK has become a less attractive place to invest. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday, Salman Amin, the chief executive of Pladis, the firm behind the iconic brands, warned that Britain has become [...]
Badenoch claims Reeves’s Budget was designed to ‘milk private sector’ November 13, 2024 The Labour government’s “ideological” Budget was “designed to milk the private sector”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed. Quizzing Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today, the Conservative leader accused the Labour leader of “having nothing to offer but platitudes”. She said: “Their ideological Budget was designed to milk the private sector and [...]
No10 warned over risk of ‘killing off’ family-run firms November 4, 2024 Downing Street is attempting to weather a storm whipped up by entrepreneur James Dyson over changes to the inheritance tax treatment of family-run businesses. In an article in the Times, Dyson accused the government of “killing off family businesses, individual aspiration and economic growth” with their approach to death duties in the Budget. The high-profile [...]
Lord Pannick to take on government over VAT decision on private schools November 1, 2024 The government is set to face Lord Pannick as legal action has commenced over its decision to charge private schools VAT on fees
Government hits £550m target in consultancy cuts October 30, 2024 The government is set to continue to bear down on consultancy spending as it expects to hit its £550m savings target on the external advice
Budget Day dawns: Bosses are ‘concerned and apprehensive’ October 30, 2024 Business leaders are concerned and apprehensive as Budget day dawns and firms from start-ups to Square Mile stalwarts wait with bated breath for Rachel Reeves to reveal the extent of the tax rises contained in the government’s first fiscal event after 14 years out of power. Pollsters asked bosses and senior executives to select from [...]
Budget 2024: No10 claim Hunt trying to ‘blame referee’ as OBR row heats up October 29, 2024 Jeremy Hunt is trying to “blame the referee” amid a row over an OBR review into the previous government’s departmental spending plans, No10 has claimed. The former Chancellor has criticised the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for choosing to publish its findings as to whether it was given adequate financial information from Conservative ministers ahead [...]