‘Spectre of recession’ looms with growth set to dim in 2026 December 22, 2025 The government is facing a critical warning over the looming “spectre of recession” after economic growth stalled in the second half of 2025 and is expected to wane in the new year. On Monday, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) downgraded the economy’s second quarter expansion to a sluggish 0.2 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Budget hits hiring market as economy feels pinch December 15, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. On Friday, the Labour government’s mission for economic growth proved to be not just sluggish but in free fall. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to Rachel Reeves as new data showed production output shrank 0.5 per [...]
Billionaire Labour backer says ‘business unfriendly’ Budget hit growth December 12, 2025 A billionaire backer of the Labour party has said the government’s “business unfriendly” policies have hit economic growth following another bleak release of data. John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4u, said Labour “really need to change the tune of what they’re doing” to kickstart growth and appeal to businesses. It follows the latest release [...]
Autumn Budget: ‘Window is closing’ on Labour’s growth mission October 9, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of BusinessLDN shares what he thinks could be the capital’s 21st century moment. The “window is closing” on the government’s mission to achieve economic growth, the boss of London’s business advocacy group [...]
Rachel Reeves to slash environmental protections to boost builders August 18, 2025 Rachel Reeves is looking to take the axe to environmental protections blocking infrastructure projects in a bid to boost Labour’s building pledges. The Chancellor is considering reforms to prevent nature concerns from inhibiting new developments as she desperately looks to supercharge her growth agenda. Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure bill is in the committee stage at [...]
UK economy contracts 0.1 per cent in blow to Rachel Reeves July 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ waning growth agenda has been dealt another blow after the UK economy contracted 0.1 per cent in May. The Chancellor has endured a bruising few weeks after government U-turns and spending splurges have cut into the fiscal headroom she outlined in the Autumn. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics have confirmed [...]
Was Reeves’ Spending Review a fintech endorsement? June 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has promised to back UK fintech and in Labour’s inaugural Spending Review, she piled billions into the tech sector. The Chancellor handed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) a hefty £16.5bn budget as she took the chop to other departments. DSIT’s expenditure limit is set to grow 7.4 per cent by [...]
Voters reject Reeves’ plans for state power on pension investments June 10, 2025 A majority of British voters oppose the government having powers to dictate pension fund investments, fresh polling has revealed, in a blow to Rachel Reeves’ attempts to use pension pot funds to boost growth. Three in five voters disagree with government influence over pension fund investments, according to a City AM and Freshwater Strategies poll [...]
Company bosses hit pause on growth plans after tariff shock May 27, 2025 Top UK business leaders have sounded the alarm on geopolitical tensions, warning that trade uncertainties are threatening their growth prospects. Nearly half of UK chief executives admitted to being “very or extremely concerned” about the impact of tariffs on their company’s operations and sales in the upcoming year. Concerns have led to company chiefs slamming [...]
Starmer meets BlackRock’s Larry Fink for growth talks May 20, 2025 The Prime Minister this morning met the boss of the world’s largest money manager, in the latest such conversation as part of ministers’ growth agenda. Sir Keir Starmer held discussions with Larry Fink, who leads the $11.6tn giant BlackRock. Fink was pictured leaving Downing Street on Tuesday morning. This follows on from the American billionaire’s [...]