Total UK government borrowing beats OBR forecast Economics UK government has already borrowed more this year than the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, official data has revealed, wrapping up a difficult 12 months for Rachel Reeves as she grapples with keeping public finances safe from further shocks. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated public sector borrowing to have been £11.6bn over the [...]
Fiscal rules are a ‘self-awarded badge of honour’ that ‘make no difference’ Economics Fiscal rules are “largely ineffective” and fail to impose discipline on public expenditure, a new report has said, bringing into question claims made by UK Chancellors and the International Monetary Fund that a clear list of targets can stabilise public finances. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has held up her “iron-clad” fiscal rules, which hinge on changing [...]
Rachel Reeves’ stealth tax raid to slap extra £7,000 on high earners Economics 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 [...]
Rachel Reeves: It’s not progressive to pay off US hedge funds for debt July 22, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said there is “nothing progressive” about paying off US hedge funds which hold government bonds, hours after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed debt interest payments in June were double levels seen at the same time last year. In a hearing at the Economic Affairs Committee, Rachel Reeves said she [...]
Keir Starmer rocked by full-blown crisis as PM marks first year in office July 3, 2025 Keir Starmer is facing a full-blown political crisis as he marks his first year in office under pressure from disgruntled MPs, frustrated businesses and jittery financial markets. Speculation grew yesterday that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could be ousted from Number 11 after the PM failed to back her during questions in the House of Commons, with [...]
Spending Review: Gilt yields dip in relief for Rachel Reeves June 11, 2025 Gilt yields fell in the minutes following the publication of the government’s Spending Review, paring back earlier rises and raising hopes the Chancellor had placated markets over her splurge on infrastructure, energy and healthcare spending. The 10-year UK government bond yield nudged down from 4.61 per cent to 4.55 per cent after the Spending Review [...]
Reeves won’t rule out extending income tax threshold freeze June 4, 2025 Rachel Reeves has vowed not to repeat the scale of tax rises in last year’s Autumn Budget as businesses brace for further hikes to meet the chancellor’s wafer-thin fiscal headroom. As much as £40bn in tax rises was unveiled in the budget, including huge hikes to employer National Insurance Contributions, which added millions of pounds [...]
Starmer’s defence pledges will trigger a tax bombshell June 3, 2025 Here’s a cracker of a pub quiz question for you: what links mega-rich non-doms, nuclear-powered submarines, congestion in Wigan and the Bank of England’s former chief economist? The answer, as so often appears to be the case, is tax. On the day that Keir Starmer unveiled a Strategic Defence Review that calls for nearly £70bn [...]
Starmer plays a risky game on welfare reform May 27, 2025 Rightly or wrongly, Labour decided that the first signal they should send as a new government was that they wouldn’t duck tough economic decisions. The cut to the winter fuel allowance was offered up as the ultimate proof of their seriousness; politically difficult but, we were told, financially necessary. A direct line was drawn between [...]
Tariffs: Starmer commits to fiscal rules and not raising income tax and VAT April 7, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has stressed his commitment to the government’s fiscal rules and reiterated he would not increase national insurance, VAT or income tax, despite Donald Trump’s tariffs upending government economic policy. The Prime Minister called for “cool heads” as global markets plunged in response to the US President’s sweeping global import taxes, and said [...]