Tax crackdown in 2026: Why experts predict a wave of enforcement actions December 30, 2025 Under the Labour government, HMRC has shifted from a reactive to a highly proactive stance, and tax experts expect increased tax enforcement in the new year. The government has committed to invest an additional £555m annually in HMRC to boost tax compliance and transform its technology. The investment aims to raise an extra £5.1bn in [...]
Flight prices set to jump as regional airports set for rocketing tax bills December 29, 2025 Air passengers are being warned to brace for flight prices to jump as regional airports across the UK face “unprecedented” rises in property tax next year. Analysis of official Government data for the Press Association has revealed regional airports are among those facing the steepest increases in business rates of any sector in the UK [...]
Starmer’s future hinges on May election reckoning, polling expert says December 27, 2025 The future of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership hinges on the forthcoming May elections where the Labour party is expected to take a bruising, a polling expert has said. Conservative peer Lord Robert Hayward said: “A few months ago it looked as if May 7 would be decisive for the leaderships of both Labour and Conservatives. [...]
Lawyers warn farmers: Labour’s U-turn on IHT threshold “not an all-clear” December 24, 2025 Lawyers warned that, despite Labour’s U-turn on the inheritance tax relief threshold for farms, many agricultural families may still be impacted, and significant tax burdens may remain for some estates. In a whiplash U-turn, the Labour government revealed on Tuesday that, after a year of backlash from rural communities, it would increase the Agricultural and [...]
Labour U-turns on inheritance tax raid after year of farmer protests December 23, 2025 The Labour government will raise the inheritance tax relief threshold for farms in another dramatic U-turn following a year of backlash from rural communities. On Tuesday, the Treasury and Department for Food and Rural Affairs said it would increase the Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs threshold to £2.5m from £1m when it is introduced in [...]
Hedge fund tycoon Alan Howard quits UK for Switzerland December 23, 2025 The co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, Alan Howard, is the latest wealthy individual to exit the UK following tax hikes imposed by the Labour government. The hedge fund tycoon relocated from Britain to Switzerland in early June, according to an analysis of UK registry filings by Bloomberg. Howard had previously moved from London to [...]
Tears, scandal, c*ck-ups and conspiracy: Westminster’s worst moments of 2025 December 23, 2025 Westminster never disappoints. When Keir Starmer came into Downing Street, he promised that politics would “tread more lightly” on the lives of everyday people. He was likely referring to the farce of Partygate, leadership battles and political blunders under successive Tory governments. But Labour have got caught up in less than pleasant situations of their [...]
Business confidence ticked up after Budget, Lloyds Bank says December 23, 2025 Business confidence inched up at the end of 2025, according to a new survey, as firms were brought some relief and clarity after the Autumn Budget. Lloyds Banking Group’s latest Business Barometer found business confidence etched up 10 points by the end of 2025 when compared with the beginning of the year. Half of this [...]
‘Spectre of recession’ looms with growth set to dim in 2026 December 22, 2025 The government is facing a critical warning over the looming “spectre of recession” after economic growth stalled in the second half of 2025 and is expected to wane in the new year. On Monday, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) downgraded the economy’s second quarter expansion to a sluggish 0.2 per cent [...]
Private sector slump to drag on to Spring 2026, businesses say December 22, 2025 UK business leaders have warned that the sharp downturn in the private sector is likely to continue until Spring 2026, after firms put plans for future investment on ice in the run-up to the Labour government’s Autumn Budget. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) anticipates private sector output to fall in the fourth quarter after [...]