Former OBR chair takes aim at Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules January 13, 2026 The former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has taken aim at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules, suggesting they prevent UK public finances from building enough “resilience”. In his first public appearance since his resignation last month due to the leaked Budget, Richard Hughes said the current fiscal rules were “among the loosest” the [...]
Chinese embassy to get green light despite ‘threat to City’ January 13, 2026 The new Chinese embassy in London is set to get the green light from Keir Starmer this week, according to reports, amid fresh questions around security concerns were raised on Monday night. The new mega embassy at the Royal Mint Court near the City of London is expected to get the Prime Minister’s sign-off ahead [...]
Nadhim Zahawi defects to Reform as polling lead extended January 12, 2026 Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK as fresh polling has shown the party extending its lead over Labour and the Tories. Zahawi, a former ally of Boris Johnson who served as Chancellor for a matter of months, announced his high-profile defection in a press conference in Westminster on Monday. Along with new [...]
Jobseeker numbers rise ‘sharply’ in labour market setback January 12, 2026 The number of jobseekers rose “sharply” in December alongside a slump in demand for new hires, analysis has shown, posing a threat to the future of the UK labour market. Analysis of S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) indicated the jobs market weakened further at the end of last year, undermining hopes of a recovery [...]
Manufacturers warn UK faces ‘tipping point’ on competitiveness January 12, 2026 The Labour government has been handed a major warning over the future of the manufacturing industry as the sector battles rising costs and pressures to shift business to shift overseas. A fresh survey from the sector’s industry body Make UK showed senior executives in manufacturing firms feared cost pressures would soon reach a “tipping point”. [...]
Whitehall in talks with City for non-dom reform after exodus January 11, 2026 Whitehall is locked in talks with City bigwigs as the Labour government seeks to attract wealthy investors to the UK following the tumultuous fallout to the scrapping of the non-dom regime. The non-dom status was changed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget 2024 and was swapped for a residence-based system that taxes all [...]
Starmer and Reeves ‘credibility shot’ after pubs tax U-turn, says Badenoch January 11, 2026 The credibility of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced a bruising after they were forced to make a dramatic U-turn on their business rates reform for pubs, the leader of the Conservative party has said. Ministers are set to water down the business rates bombshell slapped on pubs following fierce [...]
Migrant visa applications plummet in test to Reeves January 10, 2026 Migrants’ skilled worker visa applications plummeted in December, posing a test to Rachel Reeves and economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to take control of public finances. New figures showed that the number of skilled worker visa applications dropped to 2,500 in December, having increased to a peak of 10,100 in April 2024. [...]
Pound to suffer ‘until May’ amid Starmer leadership troubles January 9, 2026 Sterling will suffer from speculation over Keir Starmer’s leadership until at least the May elections, economists have predicted, with 2026 tipped to become another year where Westminster infighting sparks City jitters. Analysts at Investec have suggested that the further strengthening of the pound will be held back by continued questions over Starmer’s authority across the [...]
Fiscal rules are a ‘self-awarded badge of honour’ that ‘make no difference’ January 9, 2026 Fiscal rules are “largely ineffective” and fail to impose discipline on public expenditure, a new report has said, bringing into question claims made by UK Chancellors and the International Monetary Fund that a clear list of targets can stabilise public finances. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has held up her “iron-clad” fiscal rules, which hinge on changing [...]