Employers are barely an afterthought for Labour September 17, 2025 The economy is flatlining. Unemployment is rising. Investors are fleeing our shores. At times like these, businesses needs support. But instead of a shot in the arm, they get a series of knives in the back. One of Labour’s first acts after coming to power was to hike Employer National Insurance Contributions. And now the employers [...]
‘Exhausting’ house buying process damaging the economy, says Santander September 17, 2025 The UK’s outdated house buying process and rate of failed transactions are costing the economy at least £1.5bn a year, one of Britain’s biggest high street banks has warned. According to a report from Santander UK, over half a million failed housing transactions are costing consumers £560m directly, with some costs, including the costs of [...]
OBR ‘downgrades productivity’ in major pre-Budget blow to Rachel Reeves September 16, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly told Chancellor Rachel Reeves that it will downgrade productivity forecasts for the UK economy, blowing a hole in the public finances and making tax hikes all but guaranteed at this year’s November Budget. In another setback for the Labour government, the OBR has informed the Treasury that [...]
HMRC’s new tax adviser legislation puts ‘undue burden’ on professionals September 16, 2025 From next April, tax advisers will be required to register with HMRC and meet certain minimum standards, as a top legal body has warned that this “risks undue burden on professionals.” Following a consultation carried out in 2024, HMRC published its policy paper and draft legislation in July, which outlined a new legal requirement for [...]
Fund managers dumping UK stocks at fastest rate in two decades September 16, 2025 The scale of investor doubts over the British economy has been laid bare after fresh data found fund managers were pulling out of UK stocks at a pace not seen in more than two decades. Average equity allocations to the UK dropped from a net 2 per cent underweight in August to a net 20 [...]
State pension boost raises questions on tax and triple lock future September 16, 2025 While pensioners may be cheering a proposed 4.7 per cent rise in the state pension, there are lingering questions over the sustainability of such increases and the viability of the triple lock itself. The proposed uplift means that payments to retirees are on track to rise by more than £560, bringing the new full state [...]
State pension to rise by £560 in extra costs to Treasury September 16, 2025 The state pension is set to rise by more than £560 from April as wage growth figures used to calculate the increase will make the elderly the “big winner” from today’s economic data in another extra cost to Rachel Reeves. The triple lock uprating policy, which was introduced 15 years ago, means the pension increases [...]
Reeves’ taxes ‘incredibly damaging’ to historic family business September 16, 2025 The tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget are “a real setback” and will be “incredibly damaging”, one of the UK’s biggest family-owned breweries has warned. Robinsons Brewery, which has been in business in Stockport for more than 180 years, has issued a warning that 2025 will be “a much more [...]
Firms continue to shed workers as jobs market deteriorates September 16, 2025 The collapse of the UK jobs market has deepened, according to official data, undermining the Labour government’s goal to boost employment. Firms continued to shed workers as the number of payrolled employees dropped by 6,000 in July, adding to a collapse of 142,000 over the year. Provisional estimates suggest there was a fall of 8,000 [...]
City AM Shadow MPC votes 8-1 to HOLD interest rates September 16, 2025 Leading economists from academia and the City have voted 8-1 for interest rates to be held at four per cent in City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) ahead of the Bank of England’s own decision this week. Top analysts, who expressed views independently of their organisations, have said that stubborn inflation above the Bank [...]