Rayner out: What is happen next for Labour’s cabinet? September 5, 2025 Following Angela Rayner’s resignation from her roles as deputy prime minister, housing secretary, and deputy leader of the Labour Party, what are the following steps to replace her? Rayner admitted to having underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, and referred herself to the ethics watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus on Wednesday. On Friday, [...]
Rayner resigns: Legal advice excuse falls flat in tax duty scandal September 5, 2025 Angela Rayner threw her lawyers under the bus over her brewing tax scandal, but the lawyers rebutted, citing the “arrows stuck” in their backs, as experts insisted she shouldn’t have hid “behind legal advice”. When it emerged that Rayner had underpaid £40,000 in tax on her £800,000 property in Hove, it prompted calls for her [...]
Rayner’s lawyers: ‘We are being made scapegoats’ September 4, 2025 The law firm used by under-fire Angela Rayner for the purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove say that they have been made “scapegoats” and did not give the Deputy Prime Minister any tax advice. In a statement issued to The Telegraph, Joanna Verrico, managing director of the family-run firm, said that their procedure is [...]
Starmer refuses to say he’ll sack Rayner if she broke ministerial code September 4, 2025 Keir Starmer has refused to confirm that he would sack Angela Rayner as housing secretary – and deputy PM- even if the government’s ethics adviser finds that she has broken the ministerial code. In an interview with the BBC, Starmer said he would “make a decision on what I see” in a report expected to [...]
HMRC names barrister in tax avoidance list for first time September 4, 2025 In an unprecedented move, HMRC has added a practising barrister, identified as the ‘designer’ of a tax avoidance scheme, to its list of tax avoidance promoters. Tax barrister Setu Kamal, with 20 years of experience, stands accused of designing four tax avoidance schemes and producing the contract templates crucial to their operation. Those schemes were [...]
Government launches consultation to ‘strengthen’ £100bn design sector September 4, 2025 The UK government has launched its most extensive review of design protection in decades, aiming to modernise the system, tackle abuse, and support the nation’s £100bn design economy. The consultation was launched by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) as a result of problems facing the sector, including its reputation as ‘David vs Goliath’ for smaller [...]
Rachel Reeves warned on bank tax by lobby group boss September 4, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been hit with a firm warning from the banking industry to avoid taxes on the sector or risk harming economic growth. The Chancellor has received a letter from the boss of UK Finance – a lobby group for the banking industry – which details the harm of tax on the sector. David [...]
Construction firms are ‘lagging behind’ as confidence plummets September 4, 2025 Construction firms are struggling to kick back into growth, fresh data has suggested, as more bosses are becoming worried about a bleaker future ahead. The Labour government is pinning hopes on a revival of the construction sector to build 1.5m homes by 2030. However, a new survey has raised doubts about whether Labour can achieve [...]
Nick Clegg: Labour’s choices have left UK in ‘perilous’ place September 4, 2025 Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has blasted the Labour government for its poor preparations ahead of last year’s elections, which led to “ridiculous” decisions being made at least year’s £40bn tax grab in the Autumn Budget. Speaking to LBC, Clegg said Labour had made promises it could not deliver as it struggled to balance [...]
Rachel Reeves told UK economy is ‘stuck in first gear’ September 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned by top industry bosses that the UK economy remains “stuck in first gear” as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said growth would be slightly higher than expected this year. The BCC has revised its GDP growth estimate for 2025 up to 1.3 per cent from 1.1 per cent [...]