Healey told to cut employment taxes and energy bills to boost business October 15, 2026 Britain’s biggest business lobby group has urged John Healey to cut employment taxes and energy bills in his first Budget, warning that further tax rises risk choking off investment and jobs. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called on the Chancellor to give firms “breathing space” at the Budget on 28 October, as businesses grapple [...]
Business feels ‘beaten up’, Burnham ally says October 14, 2026 Lord Jim O’Neill, one of Andy Burnham’s closest allies, has warned businesses feel “beaten up” by government as he urged the Prime Minister to spare British companies from another punishing raid at the Budget. Speaking to a group of MPs at the Treasury Select Committee, O’Neill doubled down on his opposition to capital gains tax [...]
Burnham complains Jackdaw and Rosebank approval delayed by ‘government process’ October 14, 2026 Approval for more oil and gas drilling at the North Sea sites Jackdaw and Rosebank have been delayed by “government process” and lengthy bureaucratic wrangling, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. Burnham told MPs that he would take a “pragmatic approach” on oil and gas drilling amid calls from energy bosses for drilling to go [...]
Abandoning third runway would be bad for UK, Istanbul airport boss warns October 14, 2026 The UK risks missing out on a “positive cycle in the economy” if it fails to approve Heathrow’s third runway, the boss of Istanbul airport has said, adding that a phased approach to development could help keep a lid on the mega-project’s eye-watering costs. Selahattin Bilgen, chief executive of Turkey’s iGA Istanbul Airport, told City [...]
Exclusive: Healey looks to lower business costs of hiring young people October 14, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is drawing up measures to slash the cost of hiring under-25-year-olds at the Budget, City AM understands, as the government looks to tackle the crisis of youth unemployment and ease pressures facing businesses. A move to tackle the number of young people not in employment, education or training (Neets) by reducing hiring [...]
Number of ISA millionaires surges to record high with 25 people holding pots worth £12m October 13, 2026 The number of ISA millionaires in the UK hit a record high, as more Brits chose to plough their cash into the tax-shielded account. The total number of stocks and shares ISA millionaires increased by more than 50 per cent in the 2023/24 tax year, reaching a record 7,730 according to an FOI request from [...]
Healey rejects calls to equalise capital gains and income tax rates October 13, 2026 Chancellor John Healey has reportedly rejected calls by senior Labour figures to raise capital gains tax to the same levels as income tax, after warnings that an increase would harm Britain’s appeal to investors. Several senior cabinet ministers have in recent months called for capital gains tax (CGT) to be equalised with income tax in [...]
Burnham speaks with all the confidence of a mayor but without the gravitas of a Prime Minister October 13, 2026 Andy Burnham earned his spurs as a great communicator on the back of a few summer TikToks, but is the shine coming off just a couple of months into the new job? While some people still appreciate the supposedly down to earth ‘tell it like it is’ approach, there can be no denying that the [...]
‘Economic anaesthetic’ of welfare spending dwarfed capital investment by £1.1 trillion October 12, 2026 Spending on benefits for working-age people dwarfed investment in key infrastructure such as schools and trains by £1.1 trillion between 2006 and 2025, new research has found. The Centre for Social Justice said that spending on disability support and other forms of welfare racked up to £1.1 trillion more than capital expenditure in the same [...]
‘Slow-moving tsunami’ – IMF warns AI could hit 60 per cent of jobs in advanced economies October 12, 2026 AI’s impact on employment “is a slow-moving tsunami, but a tsunami nonetheless”, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned, as the technology threatens to reshape six in ten jobs across advanced economies. Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, said AI could affect 40 per cent of jobs worldwide, rising to 60 [...]