‘Fiscal rules’ have made Budgets a farce November 26, 2025 Chancellors increasingly make policy not on economic grounds, but to satisfy the letter of their own self-imposed fiscal rules, writes Ayushma Maharjan.
The Debate: Is pre-Budget speculation helpful? November 26, 2025 We want to write it, you want to read it, but is pre-Budget speculation actually helpful? We put two experts head to head.
Business chiefs: Employment will be hit by minimum wage hike November 25, 2025 Business chiefs have criticised Rachel Reeves’ decision to hike the national living wage by more than 4 per cent for most British workers at the Budget. In a final announcement before unveiling the full set of fiscal measures, the Chancellor said she would back the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to raise the minimum wage to [...]
Labour to hold fire on ‘fish disco’ nuclear power reform due to ‘legal advice’ November 25, 2025 The Labour government is set to hold fire on pushing through sweeping reforms to nuclear energy due to a legal adviser’s concerns over the “UK’s environmental, trade and human rights obligations”, it has been reported. The Innovate UK member John Fingleton published a damning report on red tape blocking the expansion of the country’s nuclear [...]
Here’s what to expect on Budget day November 24, 2025 An unusually late and extraordinarily widely briefed Budget has attracted more nerves and anticipation than any in recent memory. So when Rachel Reeves takes to the dispatch box just after midday on Wednesday, she is set to do so with the knowledge that her fate – and the Prime Minister’s – rest on placating at [...]
Bosses warn Reeves against ‘stop-start economy’ November 24, 2025 The boss of one of the UK’s largest industry groups has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to avoid taking measures that lock in the country’s “stop-start economy” in a pre-Budget speech ratcheting up pressure on the government to unleash growth. In a landmark speech on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the Confederation of [...]
Everything we know about Rachel Reeves’ Budget – from mansions to milkshakes November 24, 2025 In the run-up to the mother of all Autumn Budgets to be delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week, tax rumours have run wild, infecting the minds of businesses and working Brits while adding to the sense of peril that a botched fiscal event could bring. Investors are running scared. Voters fear looming betrayal. Gamblers [...]
Rachel Reeves to slap wealth tax on £2m homes November 24, 2025 Rachel Reeves will reportedly impose a property levy on homes worth more than £2m, hitting 100,000 properties with a new wealth tax that is expected to raise just £450m. The Chancellor is in the final phase of Budget preparations, with measures expected to include some more complex changes to the UK tax regime as she [...]
Polanski ‘tempted’ to challenge Starmer for parliamentary seat November 23, 2025 Zack Polanski has said it would be “tempting” to challenge Keir Starmer for his parliamentary seat. Green Party leader Polanski, who is a member of the London Assembly but not an MP, was asked about a poll that suggested his party could take the Prime Minister’s Holborn and St Pancras seat and whether he would [...]
Reeves accused of ‘fiscal fandango’ amid OBR forecast changes November 23, 2025 The Bank of England’s former chief economist Andy Haldane has accused Rachel Reeves of overseeing “fiscal fandango” in the lead-up to the Budget amid months of speculation around expected tax rises. Speaking to the BBC, Haldane blasted months of speculation around the Budget that had caused “paralysis” in the UK economy. His comments came days [...]