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 [...]
Brexit U-turn? Burnham says he is taking ‘pragmatic’ approach on EU October 12, 2026 Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will take a “pragmatic” approach to boosting relations with the European Union just a fortnight after he suggested he could explore a full return to the world’s largest economic bloc. Burnham told MPs on Monday that a summit with EU leaders would take place on 20 November, where [...]
Triple lock reform and scrapping IHT: Voters give thumbs up to Labour and Tory policies October 12, 2026 Andy Burnham’s pledge to reform the state pension triple lock and Kemi Badenoch’s plan to scrap inheritance taxes on family homes have both received a stamp of approval from voters, new polling has shown. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters showed that the British public back the major policies announced by the [...]
Palantir’s Tom Watson warns Labour against ‘mob rule’ on procurement October 9, 2026 Former Labour deputy leader and top Palantir executive Tom Watson has warned his party could face “trouble” if they bow to “mob rule” on procurement procedures. Lord Watson, who became a senior vice president at the US tech giant in September, said Palantir is “very targeted by the people that are targeting Israeli companies”. Watson [...]
Minister denies Labour’s tax hikes behind youth unemployment October 8, 2026 The Labour government’s £25bn hike in taxes paid by employers is not the main driver behind rising youth unemployment, a government minister told City AM. Baroness Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said that changes in NICs and minimum wages have not been the main drivers behind a rise in unemployment rates for people under the [...]