Starmer vows to ‘resist pressure’ over Iran policy amid criticism of UK response March 5, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “resist” pressure on the UK’s response to the conflict with Iran as he defended Britain’s “level-headed” military response. In a press conference on Thursday, Starmer suggested President Trump had left the Middle East “plunged into chaos” with his attack on the Iranian regime over the weekend. He said the [...]
‘Patronising gibberish’ – Top Tory slams Labour’s ‘masculine’ job ad crackdown March 5, 2026 Labour has been criticised for issuing new guidance that warns employers against using ‘masculine’ language in job descriptions. The Office for Equality and Opportunity’s new guidance, published on Wednesday, suggests that businesses swap ‘aggressive character traits’ for more neutral, behaviour-based criteria. The document urges businesses to use neutral language and titles, including “avoid terms associated [...]
Greg Jackson urges Labour to exploit North Sea oil as UK ‘stares down barrel’ of energy price shock March 5, 2026 Octopus founder and government adviser Greg Jackson has urged Labour to “use what’s available” in the North Sea and rethink its key net zero policies. Jackson said the county was “staring down the barrel” of an energy price shock in light of the conflict in the Middle East. The Octopus chief executive who is also [...]
Watch: War brings Reeves’ failures into focus March 5, 2026 War in the Middle East rendered the Chancellor’s Spring Statement “irrelevant” according to City analysts as the economic impacts of the Iran conflict become frighteningly clear. Rachel Reeves made just a passing mention of the Iran war when she addressed MPs on Tuesday, referring briefly to global instability while trying to paint a picture of [...]
Construction hit by wet weather as low housebuilding weakens output March 5, 2026 The construction sector was hit by “exceptionally wet weather” in February that caused delays and led to a decline in output, new research has shown. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed the beleaguered sector suffered from an “accelerated downturn” in output last month. The construction PMI dropped to 44.5, below the 50-figure mark for [...]
Estate agency Foxtons says ‘government-driven’ costs harming bottom line March 5, 2026 Leading estate agency Foxtons has hit out at the “strain” caused by national insurance and minimum wage hikes as it contends with a “challenging” market. The firm said “government-driven” pressures are harming its bottom line, as revenue growth was “offset” by increased external costs. The Labour government is facing increasing pressure from business to address [...]
Taylor Wimpey profit halves as Budget impacts sales March 5, 2026 The UK’s third-largest house builder saw its profits halve last year due to the cost of fire safety regulations and a regulatory settlement with the competition watchdog. Taylor Wimpey’s profit plummeted by 54 per cent to £146.5m despite revenue growing by 13 per cent to £3.8bn, in the financial year to December 2025. The group [...]
Reeves is outrageously complacent on economic growth March 5, 2026 The dust has settled on the Chancellor’s pointless Spring Statement and, if anything, it looks even worse in the rear-view mirror than it did in real time. Yesterday, top think-tanks and policy wonks chewed over the claims made by Rachel Reeves in her panglossian speech to MPs, and they don’t appear to be overly impressed. [...]
Pub industry ‘screaming for a reset’ amid wave of closures, says Shepherd Neame boss March 5, 2026 The beer and pub industry is “screaming for a reset”, the boss of the UK’s oldest brewer has warned, as companies brace for more venue closures under the strain of sharp tax hikes and minimum wage rises. Jonathan Neame, chief executive of Aquis-listed Shepherd Neame, which traces its roots back to 1698, said the “real [...]
Bank of England could raise interest rates over Iran energy price shock March 4, 2026 The Bank of England could raise interest rates this year if energy prices fail to return to levels seen before the start of America’s war with Iran, leading economists have warned. Analysts across the City and at Westminster think tanks have suggested that higher inflation caused by disruption in oil and gas movements across the [...]