Hiring confidence worst in 13 years as businesses brace for further tax hikes July 7, 2025 Appetite for hiring among employers has fallen to lows not seen since 2012, as bosses bring up the drawbridge following bruising hikes to business rates and more tax rises looming at the next Budget. Research from the BDO Business Trends barometer found that firms are “holding back recruitment” despite indications of a summer recovery. Employment [...]
New warning over ‘stealth’ £9bn income tax raid May 27, 2025 The government is under fire over its “stealth tax bombshell” as hundreds of thousands of Brits are set to be dragged into higher tax bands by the end of the decade. As many as 1.9m workers will see their pay fall into higher tax brackets by 2030 as the bands fail to keep pace with [...]
As Labour chases Reform, they’re bleeding votes on the left May 25, 2025 Just two weeks after Reform UK’s local election triumph, the government announced a major crackdown on immigration. But while Labour scrambles to neutralise the threat from the right, it risks losing another, just as substantial, cohort to its left, argues Fonie Mitsopoulou. The electorate doesn’t love Labour at the moment. Recent polls indicate that of [...]
Why are the Tories polling behind the Lib Dems? May 20, 2025 The Lib Dems have polled above the Conservatives for the first time, a new survey has found, dealing a blow to the so-called natural party of government. The new poll means the Conservatives have slumped to fourth place, a downgrade one party source said had “put a pit in my stomach” and could be “the [...]
Live results: Reform takes ten county councils in local elections landslide May 2, 2025 Reform is set to pick up hundreds of council seats around the country both from the Conservatives and Labour, in a significant electoral breakthrough. So far, the party has gained more than 500 seats, with the vast majority still to be counted and formally announced. In a major coup for Reform, it has taken control [...]
Reeves pledges to defend UK interests ahead of IMF meetings in Washington April 22, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to “defend Britain’s interests” as she prepares to meet fellow finance ministers in Washington and push for a US trade deal. Reeves will spend three days in the US capital for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s spring meetings of finance ministers and business leaders from across the G7 and G20. [...]
Trump tariffs: No10 resists calls for ‘buy British’ campaign April 8, 2025 No10 has resisted calls for a “buy British” campaign in light of US tariffs, after the Chancellor slapped down the idea and suggested it could be a barrier to trade. Rachel Reeves warned against the UK becoming “inward looking” as she faced calls in the Commons to encourage the public to buy more British goods [...]
Analysis: Why Reeves faces political pressure over the Spring Statement March 25, 2025 Over the next 24 hours, Rachel Reeves will be putting the finishing touches to Wednesday’s Spring Statement. It marks her second fiscal event as Chancellor, and – despite the promised manifesto commitment of “one major fiscal event a year” – the economic backdrop, and wider political pressure, makes it hard to see the contents of [...]
Politics ‘not show business’, Badenoch warns at Tory local elections launch March 20, 2025 The Conservatives are facing an “extremely difficult” challenge in May’s local elections, Kemi Badenoch warned as she launched the party’s campaign to win town halls. The Tory leader was also defiant about the threat her party faces from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, urging voters to remember politics is not “show business” and that “you will [...]
Kemi Badenoch: Tories to look at ‘achievable solutions’ for clean energy March 18, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has said net zero is “impossible” for Britain to achieve by 2050 and that her party will look at “achievable solutions”. The Conservative Party leader outlined her plans for the Tories to renew their policy programme at a speech in London, as she set out her stall ahead of the May local elections. [...]