Healey corrects Treasury colleague as he confirms employers are ‘working people’ Politics John Healey has distanced himself from remarks made by his colleague, the Treasury minister Emma Reynolds, as he confirmed employers did count as working people. Over the weekend, Reynolds told broadcasters that she did not believe employers counted as “working people” under the Labour manifesto’s definition as “they are companies”. She added that there was [...]
Rachel Reeves claims £66bn tax raid made UK ‘stronger’ Economics Rachel Reeves has launched a defence over her two tax-heavy Budgets, claiming they enabled a “stronger fiscal buffer” and shifted the “tax system towards rewarding work”. In her first major speech since been ousted as Chancellor, Reeves said she made “difficult choices” that were “not without controversy” but defended them as helping end the UK’s [...]
BCG faces HMRC tax probe in consulting sector crackdown Consulting Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is the latest professional services firm to be scrutinised by HMRC over its partnership structure and tax calculations for senior staff. The tax authority is conducting an inquiry into how the consulting group determines whether its partners are technically self-employed or employees for income tax and national insurance contribution (NIC) purposes, [...]
Iceland boss: Budget must show Labour is listening to business, not just managing decline October 28, 2026 The upcoming Budget must reject managed decline and instead foster a productivity revolution through investment incentives, skills support, and lower employment costs to help British business drive economic growth, says Lord Richard Walker I thought that working across the property, retail and leisure sectors had given me a wide perspective on business and the environment [...]
British Airways defeats HMRC in £5.8m Heathrow cabin crew tax dispute September 29, 2026 British Airways has won a tax battle against HMRC over whether costs tied to cabin crew accommodation at London Heathrow Airport were subject to £5.8m in income tax and national insurance contributions. Following an appeal in June, the Upper Tribunal ruled in favour of the airline on Monday, dismissing the tax authority’s claim and finding [...]
Co-op blames job cuts on Labour national insurance raid September 23, 2026 Co-op group has slashed its headcount this year to handle the added costs of Labour’s national insurance raid, its chief executive has revealed, saying the tax hikes had pushed the retailer to invest in more automation. The group, which runs life insurance and funeral businesses as well as its grocery arm, said on Wednesday that [...]
Burnham urged to launch £26bn tax raid on high earners September 23, 2026 Chancellor John Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham could raise £26bn by hiking capital gains taxes and applying national insurance to other areas of income, according to plan put forward by academics that will rattle the City and Westminster ahead of this year’s Budget. Researchers at the Centre for Analysis of Taxation (Centax), consisting of [...]
James Watt: Andy Burnham blames everyone but himself for the NEETs crisis September 17, 2026 Telling young people they’ve been let down by ‘the system’ is a narrative of despair that removes all agency from young people. If Andy Burnham really wants to help NEETs he should get out of employers’ way, says James Watt Andy Burnham’s recent comments about the growing number of young people not in education, employment [...]
Shadow Chancellor: 200,000 jobs have already been lost under Labour September 16, 2026 Labour’s economic policies are damaging the UK economy and driving up unemployment – only Conservatives can restore growth, says Andrew Griffith If the UK economy were a malfunctioning car, the dashboard would be lit up like a Christmas Tree. This morning’s labour market figures are the latest set of accounts for Labour’s economy, and I [...]
Claridge’s swings to £10m loss as luxury hotel warns on ‘adverse impact’ of tax hikes September 11, 2026 Claridge’s has suffered a loss of just under £10m as the iconic London business warned government tax hikes were taking their toll. The five-star Mayfair hotel, which opened its doors in 1898 before expanding via a five storey ‘mega basement’ in 2021, recorded a loss after tax of £9.7m for 2025, reversing a £2m profit [...]