Pensions, motorists and workers: The tax targets Rachel Reeves is eyeing up Economics If there is one thing that is clear three weeks out from the Autumn Budget, it is that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will hike taxes. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which scores the economic impacts of the government’s policies and publishes forecasts on public finances, has been questioned for being over optimistic on measures such [...]
A chilling warning from Starmer’s past Opinion A lot is written about how we don’t know the true Keir Starmer, but this article really does show his instincts – which are far more radical than widely understood, says Simon Clarke “Give me the child and I will show you the man” is a saying of the Jesuit order. While I wouldn’t necessarily [...]
Rachel Reeves’ growth policies scored by City AM Economics 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 [...]
Employers set to pay more to hire migrants as immigration rules tightened October 14, 2025 Employers will have to pay higher fees to hire skilled migrant workers as part of home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s moves to strengthen immigration rules. Under new rules set to be introduced in parliament on Tuesday, migrant workers will have to pass A-level English language standard tests in order to live in the UK while employers [...]
Jenrick pledges to sack judges accused of pro-migration activism October 7, 2025 Robert Jenrick announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as “pro-migration bias” in the judiciary, vowing to remove so-called “activist” judges. Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, claims to have identified more than 30 judges, both full-time and part-time, who previously volunteered for or provided free legal services to open-border organisations. He told the crowd [...]
Tories pledge creation of US-style deportations force October 5, 2025 The Tories will pledge to create a new “Removals Force” tasked with deporting 150,000 people a year as part of plans to end irregular migration into the UK. Tory plans announced on Sunday would see the Removals Force given £1.6 billion and “sweeping new powers” including the use of facial recognition without warning to spot [...]
A Reform government will need good lawyers September 30, 2025 Zia Yusuf has said Reform will not let lawyers run the country, but if they want to be as radical as they claim, they will need very good legal advice to prevent challenges in the courts, says Andrew Lomas Last week, Nigel Farage outlined a series of changes that a Reform Government would make to [...]
Will the ‘Brit card’ ID redefine privacy in the UK? September 29, 2025 Just last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans for a new digital ID system, or so-called ‘Brit card’, aimed to provide UK citizens and legal residents with a smartphone-based identity card. By the end of the current parliament in 2029, digital ID is set to become mandatory for ‘right to work’ checks. The government [...]
Labour to grant settled status only to working migrants September 29, 2025 The UK government will only grant settled status rights to working migrants under radical plans drawn up by Labour’s Shabana Mahmood. In a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Mahmood will tell an audience of activists that the government will tighten its indefinite leave to remain rights, which allow migrants to gain settled [...]
UK population: High migration drives near record growth September 26, 2025 The UK population increased by 755,300 in the year to mid-2024, marking the second-largest annual rise in over 75 years, mainly due to high net migration. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that the UK population had reached 69,281,400, with England experiencing a larger increase than other nations. Net migration reached 738,700 over the 12 months [...]