Rampant inflation could land Healey with £35bn bill, IFS warns Economics Soaring inflation could force the Chancellor to commit to more government spending and tax hikes, posing a worse Budget headache than a narrowing fiscal headroom, a top think tank has warned. John Healey might have to top up department budgets by as much as £35bn by the end of the decade to stop the real-terms [...]
Healey rules out expanding mansion tax to £1.5m homes Politics John Healey has ruled out widening Labour’s so-called mansion tax to cover homes worth £1.5m, following warnings that the tax change would hammer middle-class homeowners in the capital. The Chancellor had been considering widening its council tax surcharge to cover homes valued at £1.5m or more, as the Treasury seeks extra revenue to fund cost [...]
Economy set to shrink ahead of Budget in ‘difficult’ outlook Economics The UK economy is expected to have shrunk in August, despite hopes that the stronger-than-expected growth seen in June and July would continue. The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data, which will be released on Thursday, is expected to show a contraction of 0.1 per cent in August, according to City economists polled by Bloomberg. [...]
Retail bosses ramp up pressure on Healey to cut ‘ridiculous’ tax burden October 11, 2026 The bosses of Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have piled further pressure on the government to slash the “ridiculous” tax burden facing high street firms. Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, called on Chancellor John Healey to “restore hope” within the retail industry by turning a corner from Labour’s last two budgets, which he [...]
Retailers suffer ‘sharp decline’ in footfall October 9, 2026 Retail footfall took a dive in September as shoppers stayed away from shopping centres, prompting calls for the Chancellor to slash taxes for high street firms. In September, the UK’s total retail footfall fell by 2.9 per cent, far worse than the 1.7 per cent decline recorded in the month prior, according to the British [...]
Tesco urges Healey to slash ‘fundamentally unfair’ business rates October 8, 2026 The boss of Tesco has urged John Healey to reform the “fundamentally unfair” business rates system and avoid a so-called warehouse tax. Ken Murphy, chief executive of the UK’s biggest grocer, has become the latest retail industry figure to urge the Chancellor to cut taxes on high street businesses, as Andy Burnham pledges a revival [...]
Retailers demand energy bill cuts as costs rise by £440m October 8, 2026 Retailers have urged John Healey to slash green policy costs from energy bills, warning that their electricity costs are set to soar by £440m this year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – which represents top retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer – has warned that rising “policy costs” on energy bills will inevitably [...]
Governments should spend more on welfare to tackle cost of living, says IMF October 6, 2026 Governments across the world should prioritise targeted welfare support for low income households over broader measures like tax cuts to ease the cost of living, the International Monetary Fund has said. Policymakers should do more to protect vulnerable households from surges in inflation caused by geopolitical events like the Iran war, the IMF says in [...]
Cut stamp duty to reap £4bn windfall, Berkeley urges Healey October 6, 2026 One of Britain’s biggest housebuilders has urged John Healey to slash stamp duty on newly built homes, in a move which it says would hand the Treasury a £4.2bn windfall. In its Budget submission, London-listed Berkeley Group told the Chancellor that urgent action was needed to prevent the housing market from “sliding over an economic [...]
Bring ‘punishing’ high street taxes in line with banks, Healey urged October 1, 2026 John Healey has been urged to bring down the “punishing” tax burden facing the retail and hospitality industries, which is higher than any other sector. Hospitality businesses pay 82p in taxes for every pound and retail pays 72p, compared to the 40p paid by banks, according to new analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) [...]