UK economy showing signs of ‘zombie apocalypse,’ says think tank Economics The UK economy faces a “zombie apocalypse” in the coming year, as years of tough trading conditions force thousands of unproductive firms to the wall, an influential left-leaning think tank has predicted. The Resolution Foundation forecasts a “triple whammy” of multi-year increases in interest rates, energy prices and the minimum wage will lead to the [...]
Labour ‘quietly hammering’ workers as pensioners benefit, think tank warns Economics The Labour government is “quietly hammering” workers following the Autumn Budget’s stealth tax raid while pensioners and those on benefits are set to enjoy a jump in income, a think tank has said. In the November Budget, Rachel Reeves extended the freeze on income tax thresholds until 2031 – a move which is viewed as [...]
‘Fiscal fiction’: IFS challenges Reeves’ tax measures Economics The Chancellor may need to come back for more tax rises at a future Budget, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which warned much of the headroom Rachel Reeves carved out for herself relied on “near heroic restraint” on departmental spending in an election year. Helen Miller, the think tank’s director, said that [...]
UK remains in ‘weak fiscal position’ after Budget November 27, 2025 The UK remains in a weak fiscal position after Wednesday’s Budget despite the Chancellor launching an historic fiscal consolidation in an attempt to shore up the public finances and avoid another tax raising budget, several top economists have warned. Rachel Reeves chose to hike taxes by £26bn via a vast combination of sector-specific levies, pension [...]
Reeves’ income tax decision to hit wealth creators, warns Castore CEO November 26, 2025 The co-founder of sportswear brand Castore has hit out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves for freezing income tax thresholds as a “way of delaying the inevitable impact for entrepreneurs and wealth creators”. Tom Beahon, who leads the Manchester-headquartered company alongside his brother, added that “you can’t build a growth economy by disincentivising risk taking”. Announced in [...]
Budget: Income tax thresholds frozen by Rachel Reeves November 26, 2025 Income tax thresholds will be frozen until the end of the decade, despite the Chancellor previously branding the tax trick as a “stealth tax” tantamount to “pickpocketing”from working people. According to the OBR’s unprecedented leak of Budget contents, the Chancellor chose to freeze the bands at which different rates of income tax are introduced for [...]