Spring Statement 2025: £2.2bn defence and weapons boost, Reeves to unveil March 25, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to unveil a £2.2bn boost for the UK’s defence spending at the Spring Statement, including cash to kit out Royal Navy ships with laser weapons. The Chancellor vowed to deliver “security and national renewal” but warned “we have to move quickly in a changing world” amid rising uncertainty over future European [...]
Analysis: Why Reeves faces political pressure over the Spring Statement March 25, 2025 Over the next 24 hours, Rachel Reeves will be putting the finishing touches to Wednesday’s Spring Statement. It marks her second fiscal event as Chancellor, and – despite the promised manifesto commitment of “one major fiscal event a year” – the economic backdrop, and wider political pressure, makes it hard to see the contents of [...]
UK consumer confidence is tanking warns KPMG March 25, 2025 Three in five Brits believe the UK economy is worsening, a new survey by KPMG has shown, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement risks failing to lift people’s spirits. Reeves is set to announce policies aimed at economic business confidence at her Spring Statement on Wednesday but a new survey suggests consumers are increasingly downbeat [...]
Reeves crosses her fingers and hopes for growth March 25, 2025 Ahead of last October’s Budget, ministers allowed months of speculation as to what would be unveiled, and the never-ending drumbeat of doom and gloom talked the economy to a standstill. Largely as a result of the contents and consequences of that Budget, economic growth has since evaporated and now all eyes are on this week’s [...]
Labour’s National Wealth Fund slammed for ‘completely misleading’ rebrand March 25, 2025 The government has been accused of “gaslighting the British public” over its National Wealth Fund as the Treasury committee announced on Monday it had launched an inquiry into the new body. Originally a fixture of Labour’s 2024 manifesto – the National Wealth Fund was to consolidate the British Business Bank and the UK Infrastructure Bank, [...]
Rachel Reeves takes leaf out of gardening manual– but don’t expect flowery days to come March 24, 2025 Gardening is typically something career politicians only enjoy once they have retired. But Rachel Reeves appears to be paying homage to the green-fingered guru Alan Titchmarsh in the lead-up to her Spring Statement to be delivered this Wednesday. In one video viewed 111,000 times on Youtube, Titchmarsh offers a tutorial on how to get “free [...]
Runcorn by-election: Reform UK reveal Sarah Pochin as candidate March 24, 2025 Reform UK have unveiled Sarah Pochin as their candidate for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election ahead of their first major electoral test since the general election. The party announced on Monday that the former magistrate would stand in the upcoming ballot to replace former MP Mike Amesbury, who stood down following his assault conviction. Pochin, [...]
Heathrow fire ‘not believed suspicious’ but under Met counter-terror probe March 24, 2025 The cause of the fire which shut down Heathrow Airport is “not believed to be suspicious” but is under investigation by the Met Police counter-terrorism squad, a minister has said. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander updated MPs on the “unprecedented” power outage which shut Britain’s busiest airport over the weekend in the House of Commons on [...]
Spring Statement won’t ‘alter basics’, Starmer insists, amid tax cuts reports March 24, 2025 The Spring Statement this week will not “alter the basics” of public spending plans, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.
Mid-sized firms will add two million jobs to UK economy by 2028, BDO says March 24, 2025 Mid-sized businesses could add £745bn to the UK economy in the next three years, according to new research by the financial services firm BDO. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out her ambitions to deliver growth “further and faster”, but her plans have come under fire as the Office for Budget Responsibility looks set to halve [...]