Keir Starmer refuses to rule out income tax raid at the Budget October 29, 2025 Keir Starmer dodged questions on whether Labour would raise income tax, VAT or national insurance, the clearest sign yet that the government is looking at breaking key party manifesto commitments on taxes. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch grilled Starmer on whether Rachel Reeves was laying the groundwork for an income tax raid [...]
Autumn Budget: Rachel Reeves pledges to beat ‘gloomy’ economic forecasts October 29, 2025 Rachel Reeves has insisted that the UK can overcome bleak forecasts that look set to box her into manifesto U-turns and further tax hikes. The Chancellor wrote in The Guardian that she is “determined not to simply accept the forecasts”, pointing to interest rates cuts and trade deals as examples of Britain on the right [...]
Complaints to banks ombudsman fall after Treasury clamp down October 29, 2025 Complaints to the banking ombudsman have tumbled in the three months to September 2025 after the Treasury launched its own clamp down. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recorded 46,300 complaints in the quarter, down from 73,700 in the same period last year. In the three months to June, 68,000 complaints were recorded. The fall followed [...]
Firms brace for ‘difficult winter’ as tax burden weighs on activity October 29, 2025 Companies across the private sector are braced for a “difficult” winter as activity is forecast to downturn across UK services due to mounting tax fears, fresh research has indicated. A leading survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), considered to be one of the UK’s most influential business groups, has suggested that private sector [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must avoid tax encore for retail, HMV boss warns October 29, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of HMV joins a chorus of warnings to give the retail sector some reprieve. As high street music retailer HMV breezes into the all-important golden quarter, boss Phillip Halliday is eyeing a chart-topper [...]
Britain is at risk of losing young founders to global rivals October 29, 2025 The UK is at risk of an exodus of entrepreneurial talent as young founders find themselves being lured away by global competitors. According to a new report from the Young Entrepreneurs Forum, Britain is losing its edge as a lucrative destination for young people to launch their startups, due to policymakers failing to address challenges [...]
Businesses put brakes on investment before Budget October 28, 2025 UK businesses are putting investment and hiring plans on ice ahead of next month’s eagerly anticipated Budget, fearful the Chancellor will squeeze business to plug the UK’s fiscal shortfall for the second time in as many years. According to a fresh poll of small and medium-sized businesses, more than four in five (84 per cent) [...]
Lawyers to rethink personal tax structures as Reeves set to target LLPs October 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s proposed tax raid on LLPs may force partners to work longer or reconsider their retirement plans, with significant financial implications for many professionals. It was reported last week that Reeves is targeting limited liability partnerships (LLPs) in a tax raid as she tries to fill a fiscal black hole. The proposed 15 [...]
Paddy Power founder: Bookies ‘scaremongering’ over tax hike damage October 28, 2025 The betting sector is “scaremongering” over the potential damage of a tax raid on gambling, according to the retired co-founder of Paddy Power, who said he had led similar industry warnings of job losses and store closures before other mooted tax changes. Stewart Kenny, who served as chairman and chief executive at the Irish gambling [...]
Why are asset managers turning away from the US? October 28, 2025 Asset managers are increasingly choosing to diversify their portfolios away from US stocks, despite Wall Street’s pronounced rally, as fears over being overexposed to secular markets grows. US markets saw a significant bounce back in recent months, shaking off the lows that followed Trump’s tariff announcement in April, with investors not yet losing their appetite [...]