Secure Trust Bank taps Labour donor tied to cronyism scandal as new boss June 17, 2025 An ex-Treasury director who was at the heart of Labour’s “cronyism” scandal has been tapped to take the helm at specialist lender Secure Trust Bank. Ian Corfield, who also spent nearly a decade as chief commercial officer of New Day, will replace retiring chief executive David McReadie. Corfield stepped down from his civil servant role [...]
Rachel Reeves mulls inheritance tax U-turn as non-doms flee June 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves is reportedly mulling over changes to inheritance tax (IHT) on non-doms for assets held around the world, as pressure has ramped up from the City. That’s according to a report in the Financial Times, with “tweaks” to current rules to stem the UK’s haemorrhaging of non-doms. This potential U-turn follows pressure on the [...]
Welfare, debt and the NHS: Our public finances are on the road to ruin June 17, 2025 Portugal is a fine country with plenty going for it, as an increasing number of Brits seem to be discovering. Just under 50,000 people moved there from the UK in 2023/34, up from 45,000 the previous year. These expats may or may not be aware that the country they’ve moved to (well-functioning, democratic, competitive and [...]
84 per cent of Brits want Iran blocked from developing nuclear weapons June 16, 2025 A huge 84 per cent of Brits say that Iran should be stopped from developing nuclear weapons, with 44 per cent supporting UK military efforts to intervene, according to polling from think tank More in Common. The overwhelming strength of public concern and the relative backing of intervention is at odds with Sir Keir Starmer’s [...]
Business rates to hammer the West End: ‘This whole policy is nuts’ June 16, 2025 A rise in business rates for more expensive properties is set to hammer valuable areas like London’s West End, a leading investment firm has warned. The policy, which aims to bring down business rates for small properties by raising them for large properties, has been slammed as “unlikely to save the high street” and likely [...]
Car crash interview: City minister trips up over £10bn infrastructure project June 16, 2025 City minister Emma Reynolds was flummoxed by a series of questions about the government’s recent infrastructure announcements in a variously tense and cringe-inducing interview on LBC on Monday morning. Just seconds into the exchange with Nick Ferrari, Reynolds misspoke and called the Dartford Tunnel – in Kent – the Dartmouth Tunnel – in Devon – [...]
Israel-Iran conflict to dominate G7 meeting as Starmer calls for restraint June 16, 2025 The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to be high on the agenda as world leaders gather in Canada on Monday. Sir Keir Starmer said that the G7 meeting in Alberta would provide an opportunity for allies to make the case for de-escalation in the “fast moving” situation in the Middle East, with President Trump [...]
High street banks ramp up SME lending to highest since 2022 June 16, 2025 High street banks are scaling up their lending to small businesses, with the first quarter of 2022 hitting the highest amount since 2022. Lenders issued £4.6bn worth of loans in the first three months of the year marking a 14 per cent year-on-year jump. The rise was driven by a surge of lending to agriculture, [...]
Was Reeves’ Spending Review a fintech endorsement? June 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has promised to back UK fintech and in Labour’s inaugural Spending Review, she piled billions into the tech sector. The Chancellor handed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) a hefty £16.5bn budget as she took the chop to other departments. DSIT’s expenditure limit is set to grow 7.4 per cent by [...]
Westminster upheavals: Labour MPs could resign, Lib Dems courting Tory MPs June 13, 2025 Political intrigue is alive in Whitehall’s corridors, as Labour’s welfare reforms have landed a number of MPs on ‘resignation watch.’ On the benches opposite, Tories on the left of the party are being courted by Lib Dems. Work and Pensions (DWP) secretary Liz Kendall has told the party she will be pushing through with controversial [...]