Labour’s assault on the private sector will come back to haunt them November 18, 2024 The weekend’s papers groaned under the weight of business leaders’ concerns and complaints about the Labour’s government’s recent Budget and wider policy agenda. “They don’t understand business” ran an FT article, drawing on a host of quotes from alarmed chief executives. “Honeymoon’s over for business chiefs…” was the warning in a similar Sunday Times article. [...]
Reeves ‘not satisfied’ as economic growth slows in third quarter November 16, 2024 Rachel Reeves has said she is “not satisfied” after official figures showed economic growth slowed in the months after Labour won the election, and even contracted in September. The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent between July and September, versus 0.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Get rid of ‘mongrels and wasters’ by paying government advisors more November 15, 2024 Sue Gray’s salary as chief of staff attracted controversy for all the wrong reasons: it was too low, not too high. Across government, we should be prepared to pay serious money for serious talent, says Patrick King Staffing appointments by the new government have led to cries of cronyism, with hand-wringing about civil service politicisation. [...]
Reeves eyes £80bn investment with pension ‘megafunds’ November 14, 2024 The Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil plans to consolidate the UK’s sprawling £400bn local authority pension schemes today in a bid to unlock a wave of investment into the UK. In her first Mansion House speech in the City, Reeves is expected to announce a new Pension Schemes Bill to be introduced next year, aiming [...]
Exclusive: Reeves to reveal new mutual council with Nationwide and Co-op November 14, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out plans for a new mutual council today made up of some of Britain’s biggest customer and member-owned firms, including Nationwide, Royal London and the Co-op Group, City AM understands. In her maiden Mansion House speech, Reeves is expected to set out a growth plan for mutually owned business as [...]
Working mothers will pay for Labour’s tax rises November 13, 2024 Employers’ national insurance hikes will increase the cost of childcare and put nurseries out of business, making life for working mothers even harder than it already is, says Alys Denby Governments are notoriously bad at picking winners, but Britain is about to find out what happens when leaders are more interested in picking losers. From [...]
Vodafone boss shrugs off Budget as company set to double-down on UK November 12, 2024 The boss of the FTSE 100 telecoms giant Vodafone has shrugged off suggestions Labour’s tax-raising Budget will have an impact on the business. Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle estimated the Budget’s total cost to Vodafone at around £10m in a call with investors and analysts following its half-year results, published this morning. “In the [...]
What the City of London wants from Reeves’s Mansion House speech November 12, 2024 Treasury officials have been hitting the phones to City firms over the past two weeks as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the government’s annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector. The backdrop is a fractious one for the Chancellor. While the Labour party built cordial ties with the Square Mile in the run [...]
Demand for flexible jobs soars as workers seek remote roles November 12, 2024 Searches for jobs with flexible working surged by 132 per cent between July and September this year, according to new figures. Based on 22,000 job searches analysed by flexible work specialist Flexa, the data also shows that 60 per cent more flexible job adverts were posted in the same period compared to the previous quarter. [...]
Labour will be thinking global, but their fortunes depend on the local November 12, 2024 Labour strategists will be focused on what Trump’s victory means for Britain and the world, but the government will soon face big challenges at the local level, says James Nation Following on from the US election result, takes abound on what Trump 2.0 means for the world and for the UK. On the economy, there [...]