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 [...]
Industrial strategy vs journalism: The battle for UK university funding The future of journalism courses in UK higher education is under threat after the government confirmed plans to divert funding away from media and communications courses and towards subjects more directly tied to its industrial strategy. In May, ministers announced a £108m cut to the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) for 2025-26 – reducing the total [...]
Rachel Reeves’ matchmaker moment Economics Finance bros and gals are often seen oozing confidence as they strut their stuff around the streets of the City of London, imagining they’re the main characters on hit show Industry. But it would be a mistake to assume these investor strategists, expert consultants and risk analysts are libertarian dreamers, swashbuckling Reagan fanatics and small-state [...]
One month on, the wheels are already coming off the government’s industrial strategy July 23, 2025 Today marks one month since the publication of the government’s shiny new industrial strategy. Businesses everywhere could hardly contain their excitement after hearing the scale of Downing Street’s ambitions. So, what has happened since? Here are some of the highlights. A biodiesel plant in Lincolnshire has been closed, as well as a nearby bioethanol plant. [...]
ABPI: UK aims high on life sciences, but investment lags behind July 16, 2025 The government’s newly unveiled Life Sciences Sector Plan lays out an ambition to position the UK as a global life sciences leader by 2030. But the pharmaceutical industry has pushed back, warning that without major reforms to medicine funding and pricing, the strategy risks underdelivering. Published on Wednesday as part of government’s Industrial Strategy, the [...]
Mansion House reforms will make London the destination of choice for financial services July 16, 2025 The Chancellor’s Mansion House speech sets out a new strategy to cut bureaucracy in the UK’s financial services sector, aiming to drive investment, support businesses and savers, and restore the country’s status as a global financial leader, says Emma Reynolds For too long, our most promising businesses have been held back by a system that [...]
Greenergy biodiesel plant do shut down in latest industrial strategy blow July 10, 2025 One of Britain’s biggest biodiesel plants is preparing to shut down in the latest blow to the government’s industrial strategy. The Greenergy plant in Lincolnshire, which is thought to produce as much as a quarter of the UK’s biodiesel, on Thursday confirmed it would begin consultation on a proposal to cease production. Greenergy said its [...]
Lloyd’s chair says marketplace must ‘extend’ leading position July 1, 2025 The new chair of Lloyd’s has vowed to “strengthen and extend” the insurance marketplace’s industry leading position after the sector was identified as a ‘frontier industry’ in the government’s newly minted Industrial Strategy. In a speech seen exclusively by City AM, Sir Charles Roxburgh hailed the “success of Lloyd’s and the London insurance market”, saying [...]
Private sector braced for sharp decline, CBI warns June 30, 2025 Private sector businesses across the country are braced for a sharp decline in activity in the next three months, the UK’s largest industry body has warned, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to reverse low business confidence trends. Reeves may have hoped that the industrial strategy, plans on infrastructure investment and pension reforms aimed at boosting [...]
ABF confirms plans to shut bioethanol plant despite last-minute government negotiations June 26, 2025 Associated British Foods has confirmed plans to shut its Yorkshire bioethanol plant despite the government entering formal negotiations to rescue the site, in a blow to Labour’s new industrial strategy. The food producer, which also owns the retail giant Primark, said it had now begun consultation with employees to effect an orderly wind-down, with purchases [...]