Labour warned that hospitality ‘is being taxed out of existence’ July 2, 2025 The government faced serious warnings from MPs about the state of the hospitality sector during an afternoon debate in the Commons on July 1. Representatives from across the UK warned the government that high taxes were suffocating the sector – particularly for small businesses – putting ‘insurmountable burdens’ on businesses. “Hospitality is being taxed out [...]
Industry chiefs sound alarm over ‘horrific’ packaging tax June 30, 2025 A new packaging tax that makes the producers of waste pay for their packaging to be recycled poses a multibillion-pound threat to UK businesses and will encourage firms to relocate their production abroad, senior industry figures have warned. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released on Friday the final fees for [...]
Disposable income per head slumps despite economic growth June 30, 2025 The Office for National Statistics left growth figures for the UK economy at 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year unrevised on Monday. Official data from the ONS showed quarter one’s growth was led by a 1.3 per cent increase in the production sector. Services and construction jumped 0.7 per cent [...]
Reeves told Lifetime ISAs rules are ‘nonsensical’ and costing savers June 30, 2025 Lifetime ISAs require deep reform, as strict rules on cash withdrawals mean customers are left with less money than they initially deposited, leading Britons to make worse investment decisions, while the government sets aside too much spending for bonuses, senior MPs have told Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Reeves is a fortnight away from her flagship Mansion [...]
Will banks be able to escape a Reeves’ tax raid this Autumn? June 27, 2025 As Rachel Reeves watches her fiscal headroom crumble with every Labour U-turn, the Chancellor may return to her budget mantra that those with the “broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden”. Lenders managed to skirt a tax raid in the 2024 budget after lobbyists warned it could damage the sector’s international competitiveness, but renewed fiscal [...]
Kemi Badenoch: I’ll only support welfare bill if government pledges no tax rises June 27, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has said she would only support Labour’s welfare bill if the government pledges not to raise taxes further at the next budget. More than 100 Labour MPs had threatened to vote against the bill in its original form amid concerns over a reduction in personal independence payments to their constituents. The government has [...]
Labour’s welfare U-turn spikes fears of tax hikes June 27, 2025 The Labour government has confirmed its latest U-turn with a significant retreat on welfare reform dealing a crushing blow to Rachel Reeves’ waning fiscal headroom. The bill initially targeted restrictions on personal independence payments (PIP) and limited the sickness-related element of universal credit in a bid to shed £5bn from the welfare budget by 2030. Under [...]
Reeves urged to unfreeze income tax or risk entrenched damage June 26, 2025 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 [...]
A poor country acting like a rich one June 26, 2025 Britain is not a rich country. We may act like we are, we may even sometimes look and sound like we are, but the numbers don’t lie. When looking at GDP per capita we are decidedly middle of the pack by European standards and embarrassingly far behind America. The per head figure in the UK [...]
City sends an SOS to fix London markets ‘before it’s too late’ June 26, 2025 Fears over the health of the City’s stock market have been laid bare after trading platform IG became the latest firm to sound the alarm over the “crisis unfolding” on the London bourse. The FTSE 250 firm has launched a “Save our Stock market” initiative – aptly dubbed the SOS campaign – which serves as [...]