Tories tell Labour to return donor’s funds amid antisemitism row December 15, 2025 The Tories have called on Labour to return donations made by top donor Dale Vince after he provoked backlash with a social media post on antisemitism following the Bondi Beach terror attack. In a post on X, Vince — an energy tycoon who gave Labour more than £5m last year — linked the attack on [...]
Labour is weaponising public inquries December 15, 2025 The UK has a record number of public inquiries, but the government appears to approve them selectively — embracing those that blame ideological opponents while delaying or resisting those that might implicate current ministers, writes Eliot Wilson Do you know how many public inquiries are currently taking place or agreed in the UK? I’ll tell [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Budget hits hiring market as economy feels pinch December 15, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. On Friday, the Labour government’s mission for economic growth proved to be not just sluggish but in free fall. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to Rachel Reeves as new data showed production output shrank 0.5 per [...]
Labour must unite behind Starmer or risk losses to Reform, deputy leader says December 13, 2025 Labour must unite behind Keir Starmer or risk defeat by Reform UK at the local elections next year, Lucy Powell has warned. The deputy leader cautioned against “navel-gazing” or “throwing bricks from the sidelines” and said the party must come together to get its message across before next May. Her intervention comes after a difficult [...]
Billionaire Labour backer says ‘business unfriendly’ Budget hit growth December 12, 2025 A billionaire backer of the Labour party has said the government’s “business unfriendly” policies have hit economic growth following another bleak release of data. John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4u, said Labour “really need to change the tune of what they’re doing” to kickstart growth and appeal to businesses. It follows the latest release [...]
‘Time to worry about recession’ – Bank faces pressure to cut rates as economy shrinks December 12, 2025 The Bank of England is coming under mounting pressure to give a shot in the arm to the ailing UK economy after fresh data revealed it suffered another contraction in October. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet next Thursday where economists are pencilling a 25 basis point reduction to interest rates taking [...]
UK on ‘recession watch’ as economy contracts amid Budget chaos December 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank 0.1 per cent in October – the second consecutive month of decline – as businesses paused investments amid consistent speculation about upcoming tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to the Chancellor’s growth agenda as new [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Blow for Reeves as economy shrank ahead of Budget December 12, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Today fresh economic data has given another crucial assessment of the Chancellor’s growth agenda. The UK economy shrank 0.1 per cent in October as businesses paused investments amid consistent rumours around upcoming tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. A Bloomberg poll of City economists had predicted the Office [...]
Public spending fuelled growth spurt ‘no cause for celebration’ December 12, 2025 Labour’s “spend now, tax later” approach to fiscal policy will drive higher growth than previously expected, an industry group has said, but will leave UK public finances in a “vulnerable” position. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) upgraded its growth forecast for next year from 1 per cent to 1.3 per cent, with an extra [...]
Substack implements native advertising following $1.1bn valuation December 11, 2025 Substack, the historically anti-advertising newsletter platform, has announced it will pilot an advertising programme following its latest funding round. Substack was founded with the goal of providing an alternative to online advertising as a monetisation model for writers and creators. It was founded in 2017 as a website where people can write and subscribe to [...]