Brits back spending cuts over tax rises Politics Voters prefer spending cuts over tax rises, fresh polling has found, putting Chancellor Rachel Reeves at odds with an electorate that has become frustrated with her economic policies. Rachel Reeves set spending pledges in stone in June when she confirmed Labour would boost day-to-day departmental and capital spending, with the NHS receiving a fresh three-year [...]
Labour versus the bond markets, businesses and ballots Economics Birthdays aren’t best celebrated on a hangover but Labour’s senior leaders will be waking up with a painful headache this morning after haemorrhaging support from both bond markets and backbenchers. As dozens of Labour MPs discovered the level of influence they held over whips in parliament, unsympathetic bond traders flexed their own powers as medium-term [...]
Reeves urged to unfreeze income tax or risk entrenched damage Economics Rachel Reeves has been given another stark warning of the implications of extending the freeze on income tax thresholds. The Chancellor has vowed to not repeat the scale of tax rises in last year’s autumn Budget, but has not addressed whether she will stand by her promise to unfreeze income tax thresholds from 2028. Reeves [...]
Manufacturers falter as Reeves urged to fast-track growth policies June 24, 2025 Manufacturing output continues to slump, according to the UK’s largest industry body, as bosses are urging Chancellor Reeves to back up training and technology policies with “short-term delivery”. The UK government set out its long-awaited industrial strategy earlier this week where it listed areas of the economy which had greatest potential for growth, including advanced [...]
Creative industries in line for £380m government injection June 21, 2025 Britain’s film, music and video game industries are set to receive millions of pounds of investment as the Government seeks to ensure the UK’s place as a creative superpower. The investment, announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, will see £380 million spent on a range of projects intended to double private investment in the creative [...]
UK innovation hinges on talent and clusters, says Lord Vallance June 20, 2025 The UK’s science and innovation lanscape is on the cusp of a major transformation, according to science minister Lord Patrick Vallance, who argued the UK must now “connect with its brightest clusters” and supercharge international partnerships to stay competitive. Speaking the recent India Global Forum on Thursday, the government’s national tech adviser and Oxford-Cambridge innovation [...]
Lord Darzi: Tech and global collaboration could save the NHS’s ‘critical condition’ June 20, 2025 The NHS is in ‘critical condition’ and in urgent need of reform, but technology and international partnerships, particularly with India, could hold the key to its recovery, said Lord Ara Darzi. “We have a lot to learn from our colleagues in India”, Darzi announced on Thursday at the India Global Forum. “They’ve done some really [...]
AIM boss: Inheritance tax sums don’t add up June 19, 2025 As AIM celebrates its 30th anniversary the market’s boss is eying a crucial birthday present from the Treasury: tax clarity. AIM shareholders were thrust into the tax spotlight last month after a leaked memo revealed Angela Rayner proposed Chancellor Rachel Reeves slap a series of taxes savers. Scrapping the inheritance tax exemption for AIM shares [...]
Labour is locking Britain into a high-tax, low-growth doom loop June 18, 2025 Tax, borrowing, the cost of borrowing, unemployment and inflation are all going up, while growth is going down. Yet in the face of this, Labour’s instinct is to tax more, spend more and centralise more, says Simon Clarke When in a big hole, muddle the figures so nobody can understand them. That’s what Paul Johnson [...]
UK Science Minister calls for stronger US-UK health tech alliance June 17, 2025 UK science minister Lord Patrick Vallance has urged the US and UK to deepen ties across the health tech and life sciences sectors, calling the move a “unique opportunity” to unlock economic growth and medical innovation on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking at the BIO 2025 global biotech conference in Boston, Vallance told delegates [...]