JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon to meet Chancellor John Healey ahead of Budget Banking JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon is set to meet John Healey today ahead of the new Chancellor’s first Budget, City AM understands. The American banker – regarded as one of the most influential figures in global finance – is due to meet Healey in London for the first time following a phone call exchange last [...]
Unleash growth or you’ll have to hike taxes even higher, FTSE 100 boss warns Healey Economics The government must unleash growth in the forthcoming Budget or ministers will be forced to hike taxes even higher at future fiscal events, the boss of the largest player in the UK pensions market has warned. Andy Briggs, the chief executive of Standard Life, told City AM the UK’s ageing population leaves the Chancellor John [...]
Healey says growth is ‘pathway out of debt’ but bats away tax questions Politics Chancellor John Healey said he will “not speculate” on expected tax rises at his maiden Budget next month as he said growth was at the “heart of fiscal challenges” facing the UK. In his first major speech as Chancellor in Coventry, Healey batted away questions about whether businesses and households were set to face another [...]
Budget tax hikes would be ‘road to ruin,’ Healey warned September 6, 2026 A top business trade body has warned Chancellor John Healey that tax hikes at the October Budget would set the UK on the “road to ruin”. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has urged the Chancellor not to “pile more taxes on firms,” saying that the Treasury should instead cut the costs facing firms to [...]
Business confidence hits two-year high ahead of Budget September 6, 2026 Business confidence has risen to a near-two-year high as the output of UK firms grows despite the looming October Budget. The optimism of British firms has reached its highest level since just before the 2024 Autumn Budget, according to advisory firm BDO. Its business optimism index jumped to 94.22 in August, fuelled by a strong [...]
Britain ‘taxing itself to death,’ Burnham warned September 6, 2026 One of the US’ leading economists has warned Andy Burnham that Britain is “taxing itself to death” in a major intervention ahead of the October Budget. Arthur Laffer, a former economic adviser to three presidents, has warned that the UK is in a “death spiral” ahead of his visit to the country. He wrote in [...]
Services sector cuts jobs for nearly two years under cost pressures September 3, 2026 Employment in the UK’s services sector dropped for the 23rd consecutive month in August as businesses maintained hiring freezes and trimmed headcounts following cost pressures. S&P’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the services industry – which is closely monitored by economists – revealed the sector has continued its longest continuous stretch of workforce reductions [...]
Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs September 3, 2026 Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, has written to the Chancellor, urging him to unwind “soaring employment costs”. [...]
Jim O’Neill: Capital gains tax hike ‘looms’ as top option for Burnham September 2, 2026 Lord Jim O’Neill has warned a hike to capital gains tax “looms out” as one of the easiest revenue-raising options for Andy Burnham and his chancellor, John Healey, as the pair draw up plans for their first Budget in October. “They’ve ruled out the three main taxes, so if they’re going to have to find [...]
Stealth taxes intensify London first time buyer struggle September 1, 2026 A raft of government stealth taxes is driving the London property market even further into unaffordability for first time buyers, fresh research has found. Freezes in tax bands and thresholds means the average home in the capital now accounts for an eye-watering 14.7 times average earnings after accounting for stamp duty, national insurance and income [...]