Mervyn King hits out at Reeves’ ‘flawed’ fiscal rules April 25, 2025 Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has slammed forward-looking fiscal rules set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Reeves has defended her rules on spending as essential for boosting investment on infrastructure as she is given more space to borrow. But King argued today in the House of Lords that her rules in fact means extra [...]
Staff at small businesses suffer falling wages April 18, 2025 Staff at small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) saw their wages fall at the end of March, new analysis suggests, as firms wrestled to absorb the impact of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax hikes. Data released by the Office for National Statistics this week suggested that wage growth across the wider UK economy has exceeded five [...]
Halfords: Sales jump but retailer warns tariffs could hit supply chain April 15, 2025 Motoring and cycling specialist Halfords has reported an uptick in sales but warned US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push up costs across its supply chain. The retailer and services provider told markets this morning that sales grew 2.3 per cent in the year to March 28. Its share price rose more than 13 per [...]
London businesses dismiss Chancellor’s growth hopes March 24, 2025 Firms across London think the government will fall flat on its ambition to grow the UK economy, a new survey has shown. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out to woo businesses in the City of London over the last few years. But around nine in ten businesses across the capital doubt the government can achieve growth, [...]
200,000 jobs to go after Labour’s inheritance tax raid March 24, 2025 Family owned businesses and farms across the UK are cutting jobs, halting investment and selling assets to stay afloat in response to sweeping tax changes. According to research by CBI-Economics, commissioned by Family Business UK, the government’s move to cap business property relief (BPR) and reform agricultural property relief (APR) has triggered a wave of [...]
‘Ominous’: UK manufacturing declines amid tax and trade fears March 17, 2025 UK manufacturing output fell during the first quarter of the year for the first time in a decade, as fears over a global trade war and rising taxes hit firms. Output fell one per cent in the first three months of 2025 after a 20 per cent rise in the quarter before, with UK orders [...]
‘We will not give in’: Farmer tax fury is not going away February 26, 2025 Gripping his lectern on stage in Birmingham, Keir Starmer was attempting to win over the ever-sceptical delegates at the National Farmers’ Union congress. The then-leader of the opposition told attendees of the 2023 iteration of the annual jamboree that he understood their pain, and promised to reset government relations with farming were he fortunate enough [...]
Checkatrade CEO: ‘My plan to get Britain growing again’ February 20, 2025 The chief executive of Checkatrade has revealed what he would like the government to change in order to boost British businesses and get the country growing again. Speaking during an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered interview series, Jambu Palaniappan argued Labour should reform the rules around planning permission to made it easier for [...]
‘This is Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax’: Labour warned inheritance tax protests won’t stop February 17, 2025 The Labour government’s reforms to farmers’ inheritance tax announced in the Autumn Budget has been branded as “Keir Starmer’s Poll Tax”. William Lees-Jones, who owns and runs Manchester-based JW Lees, which has produced real ale since 1828, added that the Prime Minister is “losing the argument and feeling rattled”. The pubs boss has liked the policy, which [...]
What’s really pushing entrepreneurs towards the exit? February 5, 2025 Two thirds of entrepreneurs considering an exit feel pushed to sell up sooner than planned because of tax rises. If we want to keep wealth creators on British soil, we need to not only support, but celebrate them, says Kevin Barrett Entrepreneurs are on the move and if the UK wants to keep them, it [...]