Keir Starmer: Bypass law for EU single market in UK’s ‘best interest’ April 13, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s effort to allow the UK government to adopt new EU single market rules without parliamentary approval was in the “UK’s best interest”. Fresh legislation to be presented after May is set to allow the government to adopt EU single market rules without amendments from MPs. Parliamentarians would be able [...]
Voters tell Reeves: Cut taxes and energy costs to boost ‘poor’ UK economy April 13, 2026 British voters want Rachel Reeves to cut taxes and reduce energy costs in order to focus on growth as a majority of people felt the UK economy was “poor”, new research has shown. Polling by Freshwater Strategy for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a free market think tank, suggested that the vast majority of [...]
Rachel Reeves’ wealth fund pumps £600m into Rolls-Royce SMR April 13, 2026 Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has announced a fresh heap of financing for Rolls-Royce SMR following its tie-up with Ed Miliband’s state-owned energy company. The National Wealth Fund has revealed a £599m financing package for Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMR) in a bid to kick start delivery on its project with Great British Energy. The [...]
Healey: Defence investment is Starmer’s ‘highest priority’ April 10, 2026 Defence secretary John Healey has said defence investment is the Prime Minister’s “highest priority” as military officials wait for a long-awaited strategy paper on procurement and spending. At the London Defence Conference, Healey said Sir Keir Starmer has taken a “personal interest” in drafting the Defence Investment Plan, which was due to be published last [...]
Mahmood agenda bites: Migrant worker applications nearly halve in a year April 9, 2026 The number of applications for skilled worker visas has nearly halved in a year after home secretary Shabana Mahmood raised the barriers to entry for migrants. Official data released by the Home Office showed that there were 34,700 skilled worker visa applications in the year to March. This was a 44 per cent decrease from [...]
Firms barred from speaking to lawyers before ‘workers’ rights police’ raid April 9, 2026 Bosses will be barred from seeking legal advice if the government’s new workers’ rights police choose to raid their company’s property unannounced, under new powers handed to it as part of Labour’s flagship employment rights overhaul. Fresh documents outlining the role of the Fair Work Agency reveal business will not be able to delay the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Blue-chip stocks boom on Trump and Iran ceasefire April 8, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are in line for a major boom this morning after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran shortly ahead of his latest bomb threat deadline. Trump announced the two-week postponement by stating the US and Iran were “very far along” with a “definitive” [...]
Workers’ rights laws couldn’t come at a worse time for businesses April 8, 2026 The government’s Employment Rights agenda is becoming a reality, and the timing could scarcely be worse. As the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act come into force, Britain’s economic outlook is darkening rapidly. Growth is faltering under the weight of an energy shock, inflation is stirring again and businesses are staring down a period [...]
Stagflation to batter UK economy as growth grinds to halt April 7, 2026 The UK economy is set to suffer from stagflation over the coming months as growth across the services sector ground to a halt in March, researchers have indicated. The war in the Middle East has brought output growth to its slowest level since last April while input price inflation hit its highest level since the [...]
JP Morgan to build Canary Wharf’s tallest tower – if there is a tax incentive April 7, 2026 JP Morgan has been given the green light to build Canary Wharf’s largest tower but questions still remain over controversial tax incentives to lure the Wall Street titan in. The US banking behemoth has been in talks with officials from London City Airport regarding height restrictions for the tower. The bank is understood to have [...]