Budget 2026: Which taxes will Burnham and Healey hike? Tax 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 [...]
The UK’s cost stack is choking business growth Opinion Much of the UK has faced a summer of sweltering temperatures as the country hasbounced from one unrelenting heatwave to another. Businesses know all too well that unrelenting feeling. A decade of constant cost pressures from domestic policy decisions has been hugely damaging. It’s a cost stack is chocking business growth. Before a pound of [...]
Heathrow boss warns Burnham against Budget raid after hub’s tax bill doubles Aviation The boss of Heathrow has warned Andy Burnham against using business as a cash cow at his maiden Budget this autumn, after the airport’s tax bill more than doubled in the space of a year. Thomas Woldbye said the aviation sector is one of the most heavily taxed industries in Britain, and that uptick in [...]
Will Burnham take the pressure off business? Don’t bank on it July 23, 2026 Andy Burnham’s big ambitions come with a big price tag. Our analysis shows a £22bn black hole of unfunded commitments, including the costs of honouring decisions announced in the dying days of Keir Starmer’s government, such as NHS pay rises and the Defence Investment Plan. If you add in the new PM’s other great ideas, [...]
If Burnham wants firms to hire young people, he needs to get out of their way July 8, 2026 Firms don’t need subsidies to incentivise them to hire NEETs, we just need to make sure that work pays, says Mani Basharzad Andy Burnham’s honeymoon seems to be getting shorter by the day. Even before reaching Nunber 10, he is refusing to hold a proper press conference. But when he enters office, he will face [...]
Thin end of the wedge? LLPs brace for major tax overhaul July 2, 2026 The maths genius behind trading firm XTX, Alex Gerko, stands high in the rankings of Britain’s top taxpayers, having paid more than £330m to HMRC last year. For good measure, he also handed out more than £150m to charities and good causes in 2025, focusing on education and supporting talented math graduates to pursue PhDs [...]
Tax the robots to fix our jobs crisis June 24, 2026 Starmer leaves parliament with a jobs crisis in his wake. I urge his successor to tax tech rather than humans, writes James Reed.
Two-tier taxes are not the way to get Britain back to work June 16, 2026 Reform’s plan to cut employer National Insurance for Brits but not immigrants is not the way to fix unemployment. Lower jobs taxes for everyone would be better, says Joanna Marchong Reform’s pitch has been consistent from the start. Brits first. Patriotism is a universal solvent for problems that are, on inspection, structural rather than national. [...]
More than 80 retail bosses urge Starmer to tackle youth unemployment crisis June 10, 2026 More than 80 retail bosses have called on the Prime Minister to set out urgent measures to tackle youth unemployment, warning that the “ladder of opportunity for young people is wobbling”. The chiefs of leading retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis have called on Sir Keir Starmer to safeguard the position of retail as [...]
Fuller’s slams ‘unprecedented government interference’ in pub sector June 10, 2026 The boss of Fuller’s has slammed Labour for “unprecedented government interference” into the pub sector, which he says is to blame for 5,800 pubs closing in a decade. Simon Emeny, executive chairman of Fuller, Smith and Turner, has launched a broadside against the government’s hikes to business rates, national insurance contributions and alcohol duty. “When [...]