UK on ‘recession watch’ as economy contracts amid Budget chaos December 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank 0.1 per cent in October – the second consecutive month of decline – as businesses paused investments amid consistent speculation about upcoming tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to the Chancellor’s growth agenda as new [...]
High earning families at risk of losing thousands due to Budget measures December 8, 2025 The measures introduced in this year’s Autumn Budget could leave a typical high earning family thousands out of pocket, new research has found. According to analysis from wealthtech advisory platform Y TREE, high earners could lose out on nearly £280,000 over the next twenty years as a result of Reeves’ Budget policy changes, jumping to [...]
Salary sacrifice: Millions of pension savers impacted by overhaul December 5, 2025 Millions of UK pension savers are set to be hit by salary sacrifice changes unveiled in the Budget, according to new figures. According to figures published by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), an estimated 7.7m employees use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions. This means employees effectively take a pay cut in exchange for higher [...]
House prices hit record high but overall growth slows December 5, 2025 UK house prices reached a record high in November, however overall growth slowed to the weakest rate since 2024 according to the latest data from Halifax’s house price index. Prices were broadly unchanged last month, edging up £138, bringing the average house price to £299,892, a new record high. This follows a 0.5 per cent [...]
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 [...]
Kemi Badenoch: Rachel Reeves “should resign” November 30, 2025 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Rachel Reeves to resign, claiming the Chancellor snuck in tax rises to her Autumn Budget “to pay for welfare”. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch said: “The Chancellor called an emergency press conference telling everyone about how terrible the state of the finances were and now [...]
Asda boss bashes Budget as sales continue to drop November 28, 2025 Asda boss Allen Leighton has hit out at the Autumn Budget as anti-growth and anti-investment as sales as the supermarket giant stumbled due to an IT handover. The executive chairman said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget “didn’t do anything for anybody” and that “there’s nothing the government is doing that is stimulating growth”. Speaking to City AM [...]
Reeves’ Budget tax hikes stopping Monsoon owner’s growth November 28, 2025 The owner of Monsoon and Accessorize has warned the tax rises introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves are forcing it to stop investing in its growth. Adena Brands, which is owned by Peter Simon, is “focusing on reducing our cost base over investing in growth” until it sees signs of strengthening consumer demand. The business added [...]
Reeves to rush pension tax raid into law to calm nervous markets November 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to rush through laws to enact her Budget, in a bid to reassure nervous markets that tax increases will be implemented even if they are not set to take effect for several years. Legislation to raise tax on pension contributions made through salary sacrifice schemes is expected to be introduced before Christmas, according [...]
‘Fiscal fiction’: IFS challenges Reeves’ tax measures November 27, 2025 The Chancellor may need to come back for more tax rises at a future Budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which warned much of the headroom Rachel Reeves carved out for herself relied on “near heroic restraint” on departmental spending in an election year. Helen Miller, the think tank’s director, said that [...]