The real reason young Albanians like me are coming to the UK illegally June 4, 2025 Growing up in Kukes in northern Albania, one of the poorest places in Europe, Gezim Hilaj watched as most of the young people he knew crossed to the UK in small boats. Here he argues that Keir Starmer’s return hubs won’t stop more Albanians doing the same In 2019, while I was studying hard to [...]
Labour business conference with Reeves and Reynolds postponed following low demand June 4, 2025 Labour has put its £5,000-a-ticket business conference with planned appearances from Rachel Reeves and Jonathan Reynolds on ice, with the Financial Times reporting low demand for the enterprise event. Invitations to the event, seen by the FT, had touted a “first of its kind” agenda which would give industry figures a “unique opportunity to engage [...]
Trump tariffs: UK to dodge 50 per cent steel and aluminium levies June 4, 2025 President Trump exempted UK industry from a doubling of the rate of steel and aluminium tariffs up to 50 per cent, but businesses will still face a 25 per cent levy until a new trading relationship with the US is finalised. Though industry bosses had been braced to be hit by the 50 per cent [...]
Westminster is dancing to Nigel Farage’s tune June 4, 2025 Whether it’s Keir Starmer’s welfare U-turns or Robert Jenrick’s viral videos, parties of the left and right are scrabbling to respond to Farage’s Reform onslaught, says Emma Revell Spending time away from the office when you work in Westminster is a strange experience. Either you keep watching the news and doomscrolling on social media, in [...]
Spending review: Rachel Reeves pledges £15.6bn for regional transport June 4, 2025 The government has made its biggest spending announcement since Labour’s drubbing at the local elections in May, with a pledge from Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double investment in local transport over the next five years. A £15.6bn cash injection will form a major pillar of the 11 June spending review, which the Treasury says would [...]
British Steel braces for fresh Trump tariff blow June 3, 2025 The British steel industry is gearing up for the hammer blow of fresh US tariffs after Downing Street could not confirm that steelmakers would be exempt from the levies. The UK government unveiled a trade deal with the US last month, under which metal exports would be exempted from punitive tariffs. But negotiations on the [...]
US trade deal: Jonathan Reynolds questioned on Trump talks progress June 3, 2025 Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has raised questions around the progress of the UK-US trade deal, saying that the agreement has “not been signed, published and presented in any form”. In a letter posted on X, the former Treasury minister said that “no one has ever seen such a deal” and criticised Labour for a [...]
Sizewell C nuclear power station to get green light in July June 3, 2025 Sizewell C well get the green light at the Franco-British summit in July as talks between ministers and the private sector continue. The UK government is expected to reaffirm its intention to invest in the nuclear power station at the spending review on June 11, with details about how much taxpayer support the project will [...]
Deutsche Bank: £10bn of tax hikes coming in Autumn Budget June 3, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes by at least £10bn in this year’s Autumn Budget as rising inflation and increased spending eat into the Treasury’s fiscal headroom. “With a tough Spending Review due in June, we expect fiscal news to worsen over the coming months,” said Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note. [...]
Starmer’s defence pledges will trigger a tax bombshell June 3, 2025 Here’s a cracker of a pub quiz question for you: what links mega-rich non-doms, nuclear-powered submarines, congestion in Wigan and the Bank of England’s former chief economist? The answer, as so often appears to be the case, is tax. On the day that Keir Starmer unveiled a Strategic Defence Review that calls for nearly £70bn [...]