Finance chiefs fear UK is falling behind as Labour growth push falls flat October 13, 2025 UK finance chiefs believe the country is falling behind rivals as costs are stacking up and squeezing profit margins, a new survey has shown, with further alarm bells ringing that businesses are losing faith in Labour’s drive for growth. The government has moved to curry favour with top investment bosses as Rachel Reeves met the [...]
Rachel Reeves urged to levy one-off wealth tax October 13, 2025 Researchers say Rachel Reeves should introduce a one-off wealth tax to avoid the “direct disincentive” of an annual levy. But the Chancellor risks wreaking havoc on the UK economy unless she breaks Labour manifesto commitments and introduces vast reforms to the wider tax system, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). [...]
Reeves ‘pressures business chiefs to talk up the UK economy’ October 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves has ramped up pressure on business leaders to “talk up” the economy in the run up to the Autumn Budget. The Chancellor has framed her rallying cry to businesses that if they do not support a positive narrative around the economy, they risk Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister. The Treasury has warned top [...]
Majority of Brits reject Labour’s ‘nanny state’ policies October 11, 2025 A majority of Brits reject ‘nanny state’ measures from Labour to control “unhealthy” lifestyle choices stating they have more trust in themselves than the government. Fresh polling from the Adam Smith Institute shows six in ten Brits do not support the government having much control over adults’ health and personal decisions. It comes after the [...]
OBR risks being ‘unreasonably pessimistic’ as Reeves set to be given leeway October 10, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) risks being “unreasonably pessimistic” if it decides to downgrade productivity growth trends by more than 0.1 percentage point, fresh analysis has indicated, in what could hand Chancellor Rachel Reeves some extra leeway at this year’s Budget. The fiscal watchdog is widely expected to downgrade productivity forecasts as part of [...]
Hiking VAT would have ‘serious negative impact’, economists warn Reeves October 10, 2025 A hike to VAT would “have a serious negative impact” on the UK, leading economists have warned, as the chancellor weighs which taxes to put up at next month’s Budget to plug a £30bn shortfall. An increase in the sales levy would have the biggest negative impact of any major tax rise, leading to a [...]
Tax fears heat up as firms ‘not ready for another Budget battering’ October 10, 2025 Tax fears across businesses in the UK are bubbling up, a leading survey has indicated, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is warned that firms are “not ready for another Budget battering” later this year. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)’s survey has shown that business confidence remains in a fragile state amid nerves that another damaging [...]
Former top security adviser questions Starmer over China trial collapse October 9, 2025 Former national security adviser Lord Sedwill has raised questions over the explanation provided for the collapse of the Chinese spy case involving Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry. Lord Mark Sedwill, a career diplomat and civil servant who served the same role as current national security adviser Jonathan Powell between 2017 and 2020, claimed it was [...]
How Reeves could ‘trigger’ bond market fright and collapse UK economy October 9, 2025 Poor decisions made by Rachel Reeves at the next Budget could send the UK economy into a crisis if her announcements trigger a collapse in bond markets’ confidence, according to a scenario played out by analysts at Oxford Economics. Rachel Reeves has pledged to drive growth in the UK and lower the cost of living [...]
China spying scandal: What the hell is going on? October 9, 2025 The head of MI5 warns that Chinese spying in the UK is taking place on “an epic scale” – yet the government can’t bring itself to describe China as a threat. What the hell is going on? Sir Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, doesn’t make many speeches in public. As one of Britain’s [...]