Growth mandate won’t harm consumers, says competition watchdog July 16, 2025 The boss of the UK’s competition watchdog has insisted there is no additional risk of consumer harm from the government’s bid to put regulators on a growth footing, despite her former chair being ousted for not buying into the push. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) boss Sarah Cardell said she saw “no tension” between her [...]
Post Office and Fujitsu chiefs ‘maintained fiction’ on faulty Horizon system July 8, 2025 Post Office and Fujitsu managers were aware the Horizon IT system was flawed and “maintained a fiction” that the accounting data it produced was accurate. In his report on the first part of an inquiry into the Post Office scandal, chair Sir Wyn Williams said dozens of postmaster victims of “wholly unacceptable behaviour” by business [...]
National Wealth Fund boss calls for public finance consolidation July 1, 2025 The boss of Labour’s National Wealth Fund has urged the government to remain open to consolidation of public finance institutions in a bid to ease confusion for the private sector. In a hearing on Tuesday, the chief executive of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) John Flint told MPs he would “encourage” the Treasury “not to [...]
Major workers’ rights changes delayed in bid to win over business July 1, 2025 Controversial plans to hand new employees a glut of additional rights from day one and make flexible working the default will not be implemented until 2027, the government has said, after a deluge of warnings from industry that the measures would stifle firms’ ability to hire and invest. As part of the long-awaited roadmap for [...]
Manufacturers fear Labour government will ‘derail growth’ July 1, 2025 Manufacturers continued to see output decline in June, fresh data has shown, as most business owners are now looking at how they can grow under the Labour government. The UK government last week unveiled its industrial strategy aimed at giving high-growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing confidence over the next ten years. But fresh research [...]
The Capitalist: Former tennis star serves a back-hander at Queen’s June 26, 2025 Summer parties, a City AM victory, and a former tennis star gets shady at Queen's; catch up on the latest gossip in The Capitalist.
Saving British Steel leaves taxpayers with £900m bill June 25, 2025 The government’s decision to take emergency control of British Steel is poised to cost the taxpayer just short of £1bn, according to initial government estimates, sparking warnings from opposition politicians that the Chancellor’s narrow fiscal headroom is in jeopardy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) expects the public finances to suffer a £900m hit from [...]
Reynolds refuses to rule out further changes to ZEV mandate June 24, 2025 The business secretary has swerved calls from the automotive industry to rule out further changes to the controversial zero-emissions-vehicle mandate (ZEV mandate), saying he would continue to engage with industry to ensure it did not pose a threat to jobs or the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). Jonathan Reynolds told the SMMT’s annual conference that [...]
Industry electricity costs for 7,000 businesses to be slashed by up to a quarter June 23, 2025 Electricity prices for 7,000 businesses in the UK are to be slashed by up to 25 per cent from 2027 as part of the government’s much-awaited Industrial Strategy. British manufacturers are facing the highest industrial electricity prices in the G7, with costs currently four times higher than those of the US and significantly higher than [...]
Iran cannot be allowed nuclear weapons, says Reynolds June 22, 2025 The UK would have preferred a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Iran, the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said. Reynolds told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme he could not “pretend that the prevention of Iran having a nuclear weapon is anything other than in the interests of this country,” but would [...]