London, Manchester and Edinburgh to bear the brunt of mansion tax November 19, 2025 A mansion tax in next week’s Budget could stifle property markets and disproportionately harm homeowners in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, tax experts have warned. Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning a mansion tax raid on high-value properties, as she takes a “smorgasbord” approach to the Budget after last week’s dramatic income tax U-turn. The Chancellor has [...]
Keir Starmer remains tight-lipped on stealth tax U-turn November 19, 2025 Keir Starmer refused to rule out introducing tax hikes on British workers despite being challenged on past commitments to unfreeze tax thresholds from 2028. Starmer attempted to deflect opposition leader Kemi Badenoch’s questions as she recited comments he and the Chancellor had made over the last year on pledges not to extend a freeze on [...]
Fans support Independent Football Regulator but unsure on remit November 19, 2025 The majority of fans back the new Independent Football Regulator but are divided on its remit, a new study has shown. Sport’s latest quango, the Independent Football Regulator, is up and running with a remit to make the English game more sustainable. Early plans suggest the regulator could have the power to force the sale [...]
Inflation stays high in pre-Budget warning to Reeves November 19, 2025 Inflation hit 3.6 per cent in the year to October, it has been revealed, in the last set of prices data Chancellor Rachel Reeves will see before a crucial Budget focused on curbing the cost of living. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said inflation cooled slightly from last month’s figure of 3.8 per cent, [...]
My advice for Rachel Reeves? Learn how to spin a yarn November 19, 2025 Economic history shows us the importance of a narrative. If Rachel Reeves wants to help the economy, she needs to learn how to tell a story.
Brain drain latest: Brits quitting UK three times faster than thought November 18, 2025 Fears that the UK is in the grips of a ‘brain drain’ escalated on Tuesday after fresh data revealed that than three times as many British nationals left the UK last year than officials previously thought. According to revisions made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 257,000 Britons left the UK in 2024, over [...]
Banks back in Reeves’ tax targets amid Budget whiplash November 18, 2025 Britain’s banking giants are back in the Budget crosshairs as Chancellor Rachel Reeves mulls a tax raid on lenders’ profits. Banks had been expected to be spared from a tax grab in the forthcoming Budget due to Reeves’ inclination to protect the financial services sector, following a concerted lobbying effort by top finance chiefs. But [...]
Prime Ministers deserve a nicer house and we deserve better government November 18, 2025 The nerve centre of the British state, 10 Downing Street, is fantastically ill-suited to the needs of a modern Prime Minister and to the interests of the country. An excellent piece by Politico last week lifted the lid on what it’s actually like to work in this rather dilapidated Georgian townhouse, with one former No [...]
‘Shenanigans’: Did the OBR save Reeves from hiking income taxes at the Budget? November 18, 2025 For weeks, Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been engaged in an extraordinary communications exercise of expectation management, leading Brits to believe that income tax was about to hiked for the first time in 50 years. In an unusual press conference earlier this month, she told journalists that everyone would have to contribute to the Labour government’s [...]
Nearly half UK fintech founders consider shifting business overseas November 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ mission to garner favour with the fintech industry has faltered with founders blasting the government’s approach to the sector as they weigh a move overseas. The Chancellor has attempted to ramp up the UK’s status as a competitive hub in the global fintech ecosystem, but founders have said they are yet to feel [...]