‘War on wealth creation’: capital gains tax raid would lose government money, Tories argue August 28, 2026 A fresh capital gains tax raid on Britain’s wealthiest would ultimately lose the government money, according to new Conservative analysis of Treasury data. Internal government modelling suggests that the top rate of capital gains tax (CGT) is already too high and hiking it further would lead to lower tax receipts. Figures presented to the Labour [...]
Reform sidelines crypto industry at pivotal conference August 28, 2026 Reform UK is set to sideline crypto companies at its conference next week and cut the industry’s access to senior figures after backlash over Nigel Farage’s £5m gift from a bitcoin billionaire, City AM can reveal. Reform was an early champion of the digital currency and tokenisation industries, which have been a mainstay at previous [...]
Mike Ashley slams Burnham’s ‘populist’ plans to revive high street August 27, 2026 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley has blasted Andy Burnham’s proposals to revive the British high street as “populist” and “too little too late”. The billionaire Sports Direct and Frasers Group founder has written to the Prime Minister accusing him of failing to tackle the cost of living with “delusional” policies. The causes of the UK’s rising [...]
The Highland tourist tax: Is Scotland pricing out whisky tourists? August 25, 2026 The latest available data from the Scottish Tourism Economic Activity Monitor in Scotland (STEAM) shows that between 2012 and 2024, visitor numbers to the Highlands increased 82 per cent to 9.4m. Spending increased by a similar amount, to £2.1bn. A large share of that is directly linked to the Scotch whisky sector. You’d think, therefore, [...]
Burnham forgets, the Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing August 24, 2026 Voters yearn for loftier ambitions. Burnham must think bigger, yes even than devolution, if he is to meaningfully win back the electorate.
Burnham to hand mayors power to overrule local councils’ planning decisions August 23, 2026 Andy Burnham will give mayors across the UK new powers to overrule planning decisions made by local councils and to greenlight large-scale developments. The prime minister will unveil proposals this week to give regional mayors in 13 areas including Manchester, Liverpool, and the West Midlands, powers to take over planning decisions as well as direct [...]
What Burnham’s Sporting Events Bill means for brands and media owners August 16, 2026 As Andy Burnham’s government presses on with the Sporting Events Bill, what does it mean for brands and media owners? The World Cup may have wrapped up, but the sporting calendar is relentless, and brands and media owners will already be preparing for the next big event. Indeed, the domestic football season has already kicked [...]
Labour’s ‘chaotic’ zero-hour crackdown could cost firms £3bn per year August 12, 2026 Labour’s ‘chaotic’ crackdown on zero-hour contracts could cost businesses nearly £3bn every year, though firms have warned the real cost could spiral even higher. The cost of the new rules, which include offering guaranteed-hour contracts to flexible employees and paying workers for cancelled shifts, has been revealed in a government impact assessment. The reforms could [...]
Burnham to crack down on vape and betting shops August 11, 2026 Andy Burnham is set to unveil a crackdown on vape and betting shops in a bid to boost British high streets, which the Prime Minister says have been “hollowed out” in recent decades. Burnham will on Tuesday set out plans to scrap the Blair-era “aim to permit” rule, which requires councils to accept planning applications [...]
On this day: ‘We begin bombing in five minutes’ – Reagan’s accidental broadcast August 11, 2026 On this day, 11 August 1984, a risqué joke from Ronald Reagan accidentally made his weekly radio broadcast, writes Eliot Wilson.