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 [...]
Government urged to quit X following ‘appalling’ Grok scandal January 8, 2026 Keir Starmer has been urged to pull his government off Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, after a former cabinet minister dubbed the platform ‘unconscionable’. Labour MP Louise Haigh, former transport secretary, has warned that her party and the government should entirely quit the site. This pressure comes in the wake of this week’s reports [...]
It’s time for Starmer to choose: is he a lawyer or a leader? January 8, 2026 The international, rules-and-rights-based order is crumbling in the face of Trump’s brute force. This leaves career human rights lawyer Keir Starmer in an interesting position… A Venezuelan friend once showed me a small purse made out of folded and woven 100,000 Bolivar notes. These would be sold to tourists for a few dollars as their [...]
Peter Mandelson handed back £1.3m from consulting firm he founded January 8, 2026 A consulting firm founded by Peter Mandelson handed back £1.3m to the House of Lords peer prior to his departure from the business, the firm’s latest accounts reveal. Global Counsel, a London-based public policy consultancy launched by Mandelson in 2016, had been lent £1m by the disgraced politician with interest paid “at commercial rates,” white [...]
Labour urged to ramp up defence spending January 7, 2026 The Labour government is being urged to ramp up defence spending at a faster pace as opposition party leaders warned threats to Greenland, Ukraine and Nato required Keir Starmer to take swift action. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey were among those demanding the government to bring forward a 2034 deadline [...]