Starmer to argue in favour of welfare reforms and investment measures November 30, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out plans later today on how the Budget will enable the government root “out excessive costs” and reform the welfare system, as pressure over Treasury decision grow. Starmer will discuss how choices made in the Budget will advance the government’s goals of boosting economic growth and bringing down the [...]
Buyer of WH Smith in late stage talks to snap up leading footwear chain November 30, 2025 The investment firm which bought WH Smith is in advanced talks to takeover a privately owned footwear retailer as it looks to snaps up more UK high street staples. Modella Capital is in late stage talks to buy Wynsors World of Shoes, which trades from approximately 50 standalone shops across the the north of the [...]
Byron burger chain rescued by Gen Z investor November 30, 2025 The struggling high end burger chain Byron has been saved from a third collapse by a Gen Z entrepreneur, who has snapped up the troubled business for £2.5m. First reported in The Times, the business has been bought by Niyamo Capital, founded by the Indian born investor Akshat Tibrewala, securing the future of the brand [...]
Kemi Badenoch: Rachel Reeves “should resign” November 30, 2025 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Rachel Reeves to resign, claiming the Chancellor snuck in tax rises to her Autumn Budget “to pay for welfare”. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch said: “The Chancellor called an emergency press conference telling everyone about how terrible the state of the finances were and now [...]
Chancellor Rachel Reeves denies misleading public over finances before Budget November 30, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has denied misleading the public over UK finances before the Budget, stating she “was very upfront” about the need to find more money, despite not mentioning £4.2bn surplus. The Chancellor has found herself in the firing line since Wednesday’s crunch Budget, as she faces increasing questions from opposition figures over claims she [...]
FCA pressed to investigate Treasury over Budget briefings November 29, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has been urged to wade into the row between the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility and investigate government briefings about a so-called £20bn fiscal hole. Scottish National Party leader Stephen Flynn urged the City regulator to investigate Reeves and other Downing Street officials over “deliberately false and misleading” briefings [...]
Reeves ends Budget week with more unanswered questions than she started with November 29, 2025 It was supposed to be the week that ended months of uncertainty. But Rachel Reeves has finished Budget week with more questions to answer than she started with. Not all of it was bad. Increasing the fiscal headroom was prudent. Cutting back motability spending was sensible. Removing a loophole that allowed private hire firms to [...]
Reeves accused of misleading country over ‘black hole’ in public finances November 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves is in the firing line for “misleading the country” after the chair of the fiscal watchdog poured cold water over claims there was a black hole in public finances. In a new letter addressed to the chair of the Treasury select committee, the OBR chair Richard Hughes said he was taking the “unusual [...]
Asda boss bashes Budget as sales continue to drop November 28, 2025 Asda boss Allen Leighton has hit out at the Autumn Budget as anti-growth and anti-investment as sales as the supermarket giant stumbled due to an IT handover. The executive chairman said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget “didn’t do anything for anybody” and that “there’s nothing the government is doing that is stimulating growth”. Speaking to City AM [...]
‘We’ve been lied to’: Hospitality in uproar over business rates overhaul November 28, 2025 A 5p reduction in business rates for hospitality and retail was held up by the Chancellor as a sign the government was listening to their concerns. But – writes Ali Lyon – as business owners calculated what it meant for their bottom line, they discovered that the devil was in the detail. It was supposed [...]