City finance jobs shrink as Budget fears add to cautious mood Economics Finance jobs in London shrunk in September as employers weighed up the raft of economic pressures and uncertainty around the forthcoming Budget. City vacancies tumbled 30 per cent to 1,200 by the end of the third quarter, compared with 1,719 in July at the start of the three-month window according to recruiter Morgan McKinley. Jobs [...]
Retail bosses ramp up pressure on Healey to cut ‘ridiculous’ tax burden Retail The bosses of Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have piled further pressure on the government to slash the “ridiculous” tax burden facing high street firms. Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, called on Chancellor John Healey to “restore hope” within the retail industry by turning a corner from Labour’s last two budgets, which he [...]
City minister insists capital markets reform ‘not a job done’ Markets A top Treasury minister has opened the door to further capital markets reforms after saying the government’s job was not done in improving listing incentives. Lucy Rigby, who serves as the economic secretary to the Treasury, otherwise known as City minister, told City AM the government was “continually looking for ways that we can ensure [...]
City chiefs warn Healey bank tax hike could drive businesses out of UK October 9, 2026 Top finance industry chiefs have warned the Chancellor that hiking taxes on the banking sector in the forthcoming Budget could drive businesses and capital out of the UK. Bosses of the City’s biggest industry bodies – including UK Finance, TheCityUK and the CBI – have written to John Healey calling for him to avoid raising [...]
Burnham to clamp down on ‘unfair’ non-compete clauses October 9, 2026 Andy Burnham is expected to launch a crackdown on lengthy notice periods and non-compete clauses in employment contracts in a bid to free up the jobs market for highly skilled workers. In a speech later today, the Prime Minister will announce plans to tackle a proliferation of strict employment conditions, which force staff to give [...]
Cut stamp duty to reap £4bn windfall, Berkeley urges Healey October 6, 2026 One of Britain’s biggest housebuilders has urged John Healey to slash stamp duty on newly built homes, in a move which it says would hand the Treasury a £4.2bn windfall. In its Budget submission, London-listed Berkeley Group told the Chancellor that urgent action was needed to prevent the housing market from “sliding over an economic [...]
Monument Bank boss: Wealthy Brits in ‘fear’ ahead of punishing Budget October 5, 2026 Wealthy Brits are in a state of “fear” ahead of the forthcoming Budget, according to a London bank chief, as economic turmoil and speculation of more punishing tax raids ramp up. Ian Rand, the boss of Monument Bank, said affluent Brits were raising concerns over “certainty” and “getting things wrong” when attempting to protect their [...]
Bring ‘punishing’ high street taxes in line with banks, Healey urged October 1, 2026 John Healey has been urged to bring down the “punishing” tax burden facing the retail and hospitality industries, which is higher than any other sector. Hospitality businesses pay 82p in taxes for every pound and retail pays 72p, compared to the 40p paid by banks, according to new analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) [...]
UK disposable income rises as benefits payouts soar ahead of wages September 30, 2026 The average UK household’s disposable income increased in the second quarter of the year driven by a rise in benefit payouts. Real household disposable income per head – which measures the average spending and saving capacity of Brits – increased by one per cent in the second quarter to £6,577, new figures from the Office [...]
Burnham pledges to reform triple lock to fund new National Care Service September 29, 2026 Andy Burnham has said Labour will drop the triple lock on state pensions in its manifesto for the next election in order to fund a sweeping new National Care Service. In his address to party members, Burnham said the party would link a rise in the state pension to inflation or 2.5 per cent every [...]