Jobs losses continue in service sector despite ‘rebound’ in UK growth December 16, 2025 Jobs across the services sector declined in December despite some signals of a “rebound” across the UK economy in new survey data. Analysts at S&P Global said staffing numbers across UK firms continued to drop as the year drew to a close due to “intense cost pressures”. The services sector suffered the most significant drop [...]
British pessimism is stalling growth December 16, 2025 British leaders are now the least optimistic cohort internationally, and it's having a real-world impact on growth, writes David Stevens.
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 [...]
UK on ‘recession watch’ as economy contracts amid Budget chaos December 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank 0.1 per cent in October – the second consecutive month of decline – as businesses paused investments amid consistent speculation about upcoming tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to the Chancellor’s growth agenda as new [...]
Public spending fuelled growth spurt ‘no cause for celebration’ December 12, 2025 Labour’s “spend now, tax later” approach to fiscal policy will drive higher growth than previously expected, an industry group has said, but will leave UK public finances in a “vulnerable” position. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) upgraded its growth forecast for next year from 1 per cent to 1.3 per cent, with an extra [...]
2025: It’s been one hell of a year for UK business December 11, 2025 From political drama to market volatility, cyber attacks, takeovers and trade wars – 2025 has not been plain sailing. January: motor finance and angry farmers We began the year reporting on the exodus from the London stock exchange noting that 2024 had been the quietest year on record for new listings and we suggested that [...]
UK exports forecast downgraded as Labour fails to kickstart trade December 11, 2025 British export growth will fall by almost half next year, a business forecaster has said, with Labour’s string of deals failing to improve hopes of a revival in international trade. The Labour government has made trade a key lever to boost growth prospects, using new deals with the likes of the EU and India to [...]
Budget chaos takes toll on October growth as ‘prospects remain poor’ December 9, 2025 The UK economy is expected to have grown by just 0.1 per cent in October as firms grappled with Budget speculation and uncertainty, analysts have said. A Bloomberg poll of City economists predicted the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will pencil in next to no growth for the month. The expected slowdown is set to [...]
Lloyds boss: Forcing banks to hoard capital is slowing UK growth December 4, 2025 The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has called on the government to take its deregulation mission further to ramp up economic growth. Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, welcomed recent regulatory progress, including the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms package, but added “they are just at the start – there is more to do”. “The [...]