Autumn Budget: Rachel Reeves pledges to beat ‘gloomy’ economic forecasts October 29, 2025 Rachel Reeves has insisted that the UK can overcome bleak forecasts that look set to box her into manifesto U-turns and further tax hikes. The Chancellor wrote in The Guardian that she is “determined not to simply accept the forecasts”, pointing to interest rates cuts and trade deals as examples of Britain on the right [...]
Up to £115bn government spending cuts ‘staring us in the face’ October 22, 2025 Around £115bn in cuts to government spending each year are “staring us in the face”, according to a new report, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces increasing pressure to regain control of the public finances. In a paper published by the think tank Policy Exchange, the Chancellor has been warned to prevent a “twin-pronged fiscal crisis” [...]
Rachel Reeves’ growth policies scored by City AM October 20, 2025 As Rachel Reeves does her maths ahead of the 26 November Budget, she will hope that Labour’s policies have delivered enough growth to limit the number of tax hikes needed to restore her £9.9bn fiscal headroom. The fiscal black hole facing the Treasury could be between £20bn and £30bn due to higher borrowing costs, productivity [...]
Over half of firms would stop hiring if Reeves hikes taxes, survey finds October 17, 2025 More than half of businesses would cut staff or stop hiring if taxes are hiked at this year’s Budget, a leading survey of accountants has found, a fresh warning that Chancellor Rachel Reeves risks inflicting further damage on the UK jobs market. Reeves has publicly said that she was considering making tax hikes at this [...]
We have to get serious about major spending cuts October 16, 2025 Speculation over the contents of next month’s Budget has reached fever pitch, and it’s only going to ramp up from here. This is not idle curiosity; with businesses still adapting to the confidence-sapping and job-smothering fallout from last year’s Budget, there is now a genuine fear that what remains of our economic resilience could be [...]
Labour ministers ordered to stop relying on emergency funds October 9, 2025 Labour ministers have been told they will be blocked from using the government’s reserve funds to pay public sector staff and will only be given cash in exceptional circumstances. James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has told colleagues across the Cabinet that access to rainy day funds will be limited as the government [...]
Government takes control of UK’s third-largest steelworks after collapse August 21, 2025 The UK government has taken control of the country’s third-largest steelworks as near 1,500 workers face uncertainty. Speciality Steels UK (SSUK), which owns major sites such as Liberty Steel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was put into compulsory liquidation after insolvency courts granted a winding-up order sought by creditors. The creditors said they were owned hundreds [...]
Rachel Reeves’ stealth tax raid to slap extra £7,000 on high earners August 21, 2025 Rachel Reeves would force Britain’s high earners to face a mounting tax burden if she opts to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds in the autumn Budget. The Chancellor would slap an extra £7,000 in income tax on Brits earning over £100,000 if the freeze is maintained, analysis from wealth manager Rathbones reveals. An [...]
JP Morgan: Rachel Reeves could slash headroom to avoid large tax rises July 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to reduce her wafer-thin £9.9bn headroom even further at the Autumn Budget to avoid making sweeping tax rises, analysts at one of the world’s biggest banks have predicted. Leading think tanks and City analysts have warned that Rachel Reeves will look to raise as much as £30bn in taxes later [...]
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 [...]