The madness of a state that spends more on welfare than it raises from income tax April 7, 2026 If it were possible to buy Happy New Tax Year cards you’d surely find them stocked in the ‘With Sympathy’ section. As of yesterday, the state has increased its demands on a host of taxpayers. Dividend tax is up two per cent for basic and higher rate taxpayers, with the latter now hit by a [...]
OpenAI calls for ‘tax on automated labour’ as it sounds alarm on economic risks April 7, 2026 OpenAI has called for a tax on automated labour as the firm laid bare the scale of the structural risks to the global economy that could be wrought by the rise in artificial intelligence. In a wide-ranging set of proposals in a paper described as “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age”, the ChatGPT maker called [...]
‘A whole civilisation will die tonight’: Trump ramps up Iran threats as deadline draws nearer April 7, 2026 Donald Trump has dialled up his threats on Iran warning a “whole civilisation will die tonight” ahead of his latest looming deadline for Iran. The chaotic sentiment has rocked markets across Europe after indexes struggled to find direction during early trading. The FTSE 100 see-sawed between gains and losses as the City market returned from [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending April 7, 2026 Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
Ministers working with backbenchers amid immigration overhaul concerns April 5, 2026 Ministers concerned with home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes are working with backbenchers concerned about planned immigration crackdowns. Figures within government are trying to help rebel MPs secure more exemptions from reforms being spearheaded by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, according to The Guardian newspaper. The changes are aimed at extending the amount of time migrants [...]
The UK is in a ‘toxic relationship’ with the government says Badenoch April 5, 2026 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed the UK is in a “toxic relationship” with big government, which is stagnating economic growth and holding people and businesses back. In an op-ed in The Times, Badenoch said the relationship is making people “miserable” while proving to some that “Britain is broken”. She wrote: “This isn’t a broken [...]
Farage slammed over pledge to keep ‘unsustainable’ triple lock pension April 2, 2026 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has come under fire after committing to maintaining the triple lock pension, the financial mechanism that ensures pensioners’ earnings are increased by whatever is higher out of inflation or wage growth even in times of economic crisis. In a press conference on Thursday, Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said pensioners were worried about [...]
Jim Ratcliffe backs Tory pledge to slash net zero tax April 2, 2026 Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined a number of manufacturing bosses in support of a Tory pledge to axe carbon taxes levied through a trading scheme critical to the government’s net zero efforts. In a joint release between the Conservatives plus the Ineos chief and other industry bosses, the Kemi Badenoch’s party said it would save [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dow Jones joins City in red; Oil soars on Iran war fears April 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. After a dose of optimism hit markets on Wednesday, that looks to all be eradicated come this morning. In a 19-minute long address to the nation, Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” in Iran and warned the country would be hit “extremely hard” in [...]
Once again Starmer addresses the nation – with nothing to say April 2, 2026 The Prime Minister held a press conference yesterday to update us all on the Iran war and to confirm that we’re still not in it. That’s Keir Starmer’s most valued line these days; that this isn’t our war and we’re not involved. However, despite our declared neutrality, Starmer had to concede that “the impact of [...]