UK retail sales plunged in December as Budget fallout spread January 17, 2025 UK retail sales dropped during December, despite expectations of a Christmas bounce as consumers pulled back on spending. In a worrying sign for the economy, retail sales fell 0.3 per cent in December. Analysts had pencilled in growth of 0.4 per cent. November’s retail sales growth was also revised down by the Office for National [...]
Chinese embassy: ‘Alarm bells’ over security fears for London mega-site January 16, 2025 MPs have warned of “serious alarm bells” for the UK’s security over reports senior cabinet ministers have intervened on a Chinese planning application for a huge new London embassy. Foreign secretary David Lammy, who visited China last year, and home secretary Yvette Cooper have indicated their support for the proposed new 20,000 square metre mega-site [...]
Is the UK government right to put consumer duty on the chopping block? January 16, 2025 This morning, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds made one of this government’s targets for deregulation clear: consumer duty. “On regulation, I talk to business people every day, as you would expect, and this is the biggest thing that they raise,” said the minister on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, while being interviewed by former shadow chancellor, Ed [...]
Reeves ramps up pressure on regulators in bid for growth January 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are set to meet with a group of watchdogs today as they kickstart plans to cut red tape from the economy and drive growth through regulation. The chiefs of various regulatory agencies, including Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom and Ofwat, have been summoned to Downing Street. Officials [...]
Pressure on Reeves after more sluggish growth – but it’s not all doom and gloom January 16, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ handling of the UK economy is likely to come under further scrutiny after the publication of another set of lacklustre GDP figures. The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half of last year. It is now on track to be stagnant in the second half, having grown [...]
Rachel Reeves – “Gilty” as charged January 16, 2025 The verdict is in. The Gilt market has found the Chancellor Rachel Reeves guilty of reckless endangerment of the country’s finances. A large electoral majority led her to think the world would happily finance what she described in her Mais Lecture as the “smart and strategic state”. Sticking to fiscal rules is for nought if [...]
UK economy grows just 0.1 per cent following Budget January 16, 2025 Economic momentum has ground to a halt since Labour took office while business confidence has also fallen sharply, particularly in the wake of October's Budget.
How ‘twin deficits’ have fuelled turmoil in the gilt market January 16, 2025 The sell-off eased slightly on Wednesday following positive inflation figures, but yields remain well ahead of where they were just a few weeks ago.
Reeves has dodged a bullet but she’s surrounded by landmines January 16, 2025 After all the excitement of a ministerial resignation, it’s time to check in on the government’s growth agenda. After all, the fate of individual politicians is of no significance when viewed against the major economic challenges facing the government, and the country. Talking to City CEOs, particularly those in the pension and investment sectors, it’s [...]
PMQs: Starmer insists Reeves will be Chancellor for ‘many years to come’ January 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor for “many years to come” as Kemi Badenoch lambasted her for losing the confidence of the markets. During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, the Conservative leader hit out at Reeves, arguing: “The Prime Minister claims he has full confidence in the Chancellor, [...]