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 [...]
Benefits claimants take home more than minimum wage workers July 10, 2025 Brits claiming sickness benefits can be paid up to £25,000, which is more than the take home pay of a minimum wage worker. That’s according to new research from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which found that if a claimant is receiving universal credit incapacity benefits alongside personal independence payments and housing benefits, the total [...]
Labour’s tax addiction will end in tears July 10, 2025 It is now pretty much universally accepted that the government will launch a fresh tax raid in October’s budget. City economists expect the Treasury to be on the hunt for between £10bn and £20bn of additional revenue, though given the expensive u-turns on winter fuel payments and welfare reform combined with likely lower growth forecasts [...]
UK and France agree to co-ordinate on nuclear deterrent July 10, 2025 The UK and France will co-ordinate more closely over nuclear deterrent plans, with any adversaries “threatening the vital interests” of either nations set to face a joint response to attacks. In a new agreement struck between Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, the two countries will work together on nuclear research and take a more aligned [...]
UK loses more billionaires than any other country July 9, 2025 The UK has lost the most billionaires of any country in the world in the last two years, fresh data has shown, exacerbating fears that Britain’s footloose super-rich residents would continue to flee the country if forced to pay a wealth tax. According to updated numbers from New World Wealth, the UK lost a quarter [...]
French AI boss calls for youth mobility scheme July 9, 2025 The boss of one of France’s most successful tech start-ups has thrown her weight behind calls for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and UK, warning that Europe must have access to deep pools of talent to stand a chance of competing in the AI arms race. Eleonore Crespo, co-founder of business planning unicorn [...]
Wealth and stealth: Starmer eyes fresh tax hikes July 9, 2025 Keir Starmer has refused to rule out a wealth tax or so-called stealth taxes, a day after the fiscal watchdog said unfunded spending commitments on welfare put the public finances under intense pressure. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) gave a damning verdict of the state of public finances in a comprehensive report published on [...]
Brutal bean-counters break the news: we’re utterly broke July 9, 2025 These are difficult times for a news organisation that likes to think of itself as being on the glass-half-full side of life. Optimism is in short supply, and whatever reserves remained after 12 months of this government were snatched away from us yesterday by those bean-counting assassins at the Office for Budget Responsibility. Once a [...]
Rachel Reeves to face fresh blow with sluggish growth data July 8, 2025 The UK economy is expected to have grown by a miserly 0.1 per cent in May, consensus among City economists suggests, undermining Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ commitment to deliver higher growth. The government’s difficult two weeks could get a whole lot worse on Friday morning when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on GDP [...]
EDF investment hailed as ‘vote of confidence in UK’, despite reduced stake July 8, 2025 The Prime Minister has hailed investment by French energy giant EDF in the Sizewell C nuclear plant as “a vote of confidence in the UK as an investment destination”, though the company appears to be taking a reduced stake in the major project. The French state-owned electricity company said it had agreed in principle to [...]