Rachel Reeves told to cut national insurance and raise income tax to gain £6bn September 23, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to cut national insurance for workers by two per cent and raise income tax by the same amount, with economists at a left-leaning think tank claiming a £6bn gain in revenue could be made. The Resolution Foundation, once the workplace of Treasury ministers Torsten Bell and Dan Tomlinson, has [...]
Infrastructure could be rare success story for Labour September 23, 2025 The decision to allow a second runway at Gatwick is entirely sensible and most welcome. As the Chancellor said yesterday on her visit to the airport, the development “will mean that people going on holiday will have a greater choice of destinations [and] it will mean lower costs for a family holiday.” More importantly, she [...]
Brace for impact – the sorry state of the UK public finances September 23, 2025 Let’s be clear, staggering borrowing figures despite substantial tax rises are a direct result of excess spending, says Ewen Stewart When numbers become big they start to lose meaning. The latest public sector borrowing numbers published by the ONS are big. But let’s make no mistake, borrowing £18bn in one month has very great meaning. [...]
Exclusive: Investors cautiously bullish on Bitcoin September 23, 2025 Retail investors are becoming increasingly optimistic about cryptocurrencies, as volatile market conditions cause people to consider adding the asset to their portfolio. According to a survey of 2,537 retail investors from investment advice platform Finimize, nearly 70 per cent are more bullish on the opportunities offered from cryptocurrencies than equities over the next 12 months, [...]
Older Brits hesitate transferring wealth amid retirement cost fears September 23, 2025 Older Brits are hesitant to transfer money to younger family members, despite wanting to provide financial help, as worries over affording care in later life continues to plague savers. According to research from Octopus Money, 50 per cent of UK adults would like to give family members more money in their lifetime but hold back [...]
Labour given fresh warning on ‘real’ risk of fiscal crisis without cuts September 22, 2025 Labour Party parliamentarians have been alerted to the “real” risk of an economic emergency if spending cuts are not made as the incoming tax hikes at the Budget could trim growth and worsen the UK’s jobs crisis. Backbench MPs have been widely blamed for failing to back the government’s small welfare cuts earlier this year, [...]
Banking watchdog launches deregulation push as tax fears grow September 22, 2025 Britain’s banking watchdog has laid out plans to slash regulation across the industry in a bid to sweeten the sector’s operating environment. In fresh proposals hoping to cut the red tape on the sector, the PRA identified 37 “individual reporting templates” which have “overlapping and complex requirements” in a bid to ease the administrative cost [...]
Motor finance: BMW sets aside over £200m for car mis-selling September 22, 2025 BMW’s UK car finance arm has set aside over £200m to cover a potential hit from the motor finance scandal. The firm joins a batch of British lenders and motor companies, which have been forced to prepare provisions with millions of drivers eligible for compensation. In July, the Supreme Court handed City banks a lukewarm [...]
Natwest and HSBC shares dip as bank tax chatter heats up September 22, 2025 Shares in Natwest and HSBC dipped on Monday morning as traders digested renewed chatter of a tax hike on Britain’s banking giants. Natwest tumbled as much as 1.3 per cent to 506p when markets opened, while HSBC fell 0.6 per cent to 1,022p. Barclays fell nearly 0.2 per cent to 381p. Lloyds was broadly flat [...]
Labour considers relaxing global talent visa in answer to Trump’s clampdown September 22, 2025 A UK government task force is considering plans to remove fee costs for the global talent visa after the US slapped a $100,000 charge on one of its key worker visas. On Friday night, President Trump put hundreds of thousands of workers on high alert after he signed an executive order adding a hefty business [...]