UK economy grows faster than expected in June August 14, 2025 The UK economy grew 0.4 per cent in June, official data has shown, in an unexpected turnaround following months of tariff and tax uncertainty. In the second quarter, GDP rose by 0.3 per cent after declining in both April and May. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK services sector, which makes up [...]
Dishoom warns that Brits’ low incomes pose risk for hospitality August 13, 2025 Dishoom has warned that the dual effects of still-low disposable income in the UK and tax rises in last autumn’s Budget present a short-term risk to British hospitality. The iconic restaurant business added that these factors may be exacerbated by “a possible slowdown in economic growth”. Confidence in the UK’s hospitality sector has been in [...]
Rachel Reeves told to ‘get out of the way’ ahead of Autumn Budget August 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to “let businesses get on with it and get out of the way” ahead of delivering her second Autumn Budget in the coming months. A group of 1,500 private business leaders surveyed by KPMG said the Chancellor should focus on promoting higher wages and lower costs for companies. They [...]
Starting pay growth at slowest pace since 2021 August 11, 2025 Pay for new hires rose at the slowest pace in over four years, fresh data has indicated, in signs redundancies and higher taxes are depressing wage growth. The lack of demand among recruiters and the larger number of job seekers in the UK economy has led to starting salary inflation slowing down to its lowest [...]
Iceland in the red as Rachel Reeves’ tax raid forces prices higher August 8, 2025 Iceland has warned it is being forced to increases prices because of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax raids as the supermarket chain fell into the red. The Flintshire-headquartered said that while it is “doing our utmost” to offset increasing costs arising from last year’s Autumn Budget, it will “inevitably have to pass some of these on [...]
Wealth exodus ramps up as bosses quit UK August 6, 2025 A wave of company directors have left the UK since the government unveiled a host of punitive tax rises on the wealthy at its maiden Budget last autumn, exacerbating fears that a wealth exodus of Britain’s most affluent residents is afoot. According to an analysis of Companies House data, 3,790 company directors removed Britain as [...]
Rachel Reeves admits Labour has disappointed Brits August 2, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted that the Labour government has disappointed some Brits after it raised £40bn in taxes at last year’s Autumn Budget. The Labour government have come under fire for its high-tax and high-spend policies in power despite claiming it would be more business-friendly during electoral campaigns last year. Now Rachel Reeves has [...]
Inheritance tax nets record £6.7bn before Budget raid July 31, 2025 The Exchequer raked in a record £6.7bn in inheritance tax between 2022 and 2023, as a longstanding freeze on the tax-free threshold and ballooning asset prices meant more estates were sucked in to paying the unpopular levy. The overall earnings from inheritance tax rose by over £700m in the tax year 2022/3, official data showed, [...]
UK sees ‘small burst’ in hiring in sign of growth July 24, 2025 The UK labour market saw a “small burst” in demand for jobs in June but postings remain below levels seen last year, fresh data has found, with brutal tax rises introduced in April by Chancellor Rachel Reeves weighing on employers. In new jobs figures published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast, the [...]
Rachel Reeves should tweak fiscal rules to ease pressure, IFS says July 21, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves should bring forward a change to fiscal rules to ease pressures faced at spring fiscal events, a leading economics think tank has urged. In a new briefing on public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Rachel Reeves should refrain from changing the number of times the Office for Budget Responsibility [...]