Accountants expect price hikes and job cuts following Budget December 4, 2025 A chartered accountancy body has urged the government to consult on a path to a single VAT rate to simplify and restore business confidence following the Autumn Budget. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which represents over 140,000 UK members, reported negative overall sentiment toward the recent Budget. According to exclusive [...]
AI powers UK’s startup surge as founder numbers soar December 3, 2025 While Britain is trudging through another tax-heavy Budget, LinkedIn data has revealed signs of a founder boom, with AI doing much of the heavy lifting. As Rachel Reeves attempted to boost startup and scale-up appetite in her Budget, LinkedIn revealed that the number of UK professionals adding ‘founder’ to their profile has jumped 69 per [...]
The biggest risk to this government is no longer economic turbulence, but itself December 2, 2025 A Budget meant to project discipline has instead exposed confusion, mistrust and political instability around the Chancellor, eroding confidence in both markets and her own party, says Helen Thomas It is never a good omen when the Chancellor becomes the story rather than the Budget they’ve delivered. What began as a carefully choreographed fiscal event, [...]
Reeves isn’t ‘underestimated’, she’s doing a bad job and should resign December 1, 2025 Rachel Reeves has no mandate for taking money from taxpayers to hand to benefits claimants and her self-pitying defences are an insult to the people who are paying for her weakness, writes Alys Denby Rachel Reeves’ position has been untenable from the start. Her promises, during the election, that she would “end austerity” (increase public [...]
Rachel Reeves’s Budget is pushing Nick, 30, to breaking point December 1, 2025 Despite his above average income, Nick, 30 is living a below average life. And it's only set to worsen thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Budget, writes Oliver Dean.
Why is Labour refusing to use its own power? December 1, 2025 A landslide victory in a centralised government gives Labour great political power, yet Keir Starmer seems reluctant to use it, writes John McTernan.
Autumn Budget: Investor confidence crisis ‘remains live’ December 1, 2025 The likelihood of an investor confidence crisis in UK assets after last week’s Autumn Budget “remains live” and markets will “gradually lose faith” in the government’s fiscal plans despite the initial reaction being largely positive, an economics consultancy has said. A fresh analysis published by Oxford Economics said the government’s frontloaded spending and backloaded tax [...]
Lady Mayor: Higher taxes will discourage investors at critical time December 1, 2025 Higher taxes on dividends, pension contributions and savings risk discouraging investors exactly when we need them, writes Susan Langley.
UK economy set to cool as weak consumer confidence damages spending December 1, 2025 The UK economy is expected to cool in 2026, as the softening labour market and subdued consumer confidence caused a drop in household spending. The economy is set to slow 1.0 per cent next year, down from 1.4 per cent in 2025, according to the latest economic outlook from professional services firm KPMG. Meanwhile, unemployment [...]
Starmer to argue in favour of welfare reforms and investment measures November 30, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out plans later today on how the Budget will enable the government root “out excessive costs” and reform the welfare system, as pressure over Treasury decision grow. Starmer will discuss how choices made in the Budget will advance the government’s goals of boosting economic growth and bringing down the [...]