John Healey rules out capital gains tax hike in Budget Politics John Healey has squashed speculation he will raise capital gains tax in the forthcoming Budget after rejecting calls from his Cabinet colleagues. The Treasury was facing lobbying efforts from top ministers, including Louise Haigh and Wes Streeting, to raise the capital gains tax (CGT) rate from its current level of 24 per cent for higher [...]
Working from home ‘more important than pay’ among top managers Business Flexible working arrangements are one of the main reasons managers stay in their jobs, according to new research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). According to the CMI, two in five of over 1,000 managers surveyed said flexible working was one of the main reasons they have decided to stay with their current employer. Arrangements [...]
Bosses made to justify why staff shouldn’t work from home Politics Bosses will have to host a meeting with staff who ask for flexible working and lay out their rationale for refusing, under a new policy outlined by Louise Haigh. The cabinet office minister told a union gathering that business leaders would have to “properly consider” flexibility requests from staff and grant an in-person meeting to [...]
Government admits Burnham’s Whitehall shake-up leaves tech policy in limbo September 11, 2026 Nearly two months after Andy Burnham abolished Britain’s technology department, ministers have admitted parts of the former department still have nowhere to go. A long-awaited breakdown of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) carve-up revealed a “small number of policy areas” are yet to be allocated, while some staff are still waiting to [...]
Budget 2026: Which taxes will Burnham and Healey hike? August 25, 2026 With interest rates on course to remain elevated and a new government keen to win over sceptical voters with cost-of-living measures, economists think tax rises at October’s Budget are all but guaranteed. But where will the new Chancellor look for revenue? Ali Lyon and Mauricio Alencar examine the most likely revenue raisers. Speak to any [...]
Government debt repayment ‘could rise to half’ of total taxes August 13, 2026 Children and young people today could see nearly half of their taxes spent on servicing government debt, new modelling by a favoured Labour think tank has suggested. Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank that was formerly the workplace of several Labour ministers and advisers, has shown that debt interest [...]
‘Good growth in every postcode’ is a woeful catchphrase August 10, 2026 Burnham and co's bid to 'back British' and generate 'good growth' everywhere is a bid to fool voters with their own money, writes Eliot Wilson.
Net zero and DEI targets cut from procurement rules as firms pressed to raise pay and hire NEETs August 5, 2026 Net zero, modern slavery and equality rules are set to be stripped from procurement rules as Andy Burnham’s premiership looks to force firms to prioritise job creation. Several major tenders for government contracts feature a list of “conditions of participation” that require firms to report on net zero, diversity, ESG –environmental, social, and governance for [...]
Where are Andy Burnham’s economic advisers? August 5, 2026 Andy Burnham’s allies boasted that highly-regarded economists had been lured as advisers. Mauricio Alencar and Ali Lyon report on the non-appointments of some of Britain’s best economists – and what the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s new teams look like. In the end, all it took was a few rumours. In the weeks leading up to [...]
Reeves: Burnham will face ‘shocks and challenges’ as Prime Minister July 12, 2026 Rachel Reeves has warned Andy Burnham that he will face “shocks and challenges” as he takes the reins as Prime Minister and will need a “worked through plan” to govern. The Chancellor said that the incoming Prime Minister “needs to stay laser-focused on those things that have always motivated him” as he enters Downing Street [...]