Labour ministers urged to be clearer on small pension pot plans April 29, 2025 The UK government needs to be more coherent and take extra care with pension schemes before it consolidates small pension pots, a leading industry group has warned. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last week unveiled plans to ease costs by automatically combining small pots holding less than £1,000 into one scheme. Individuals will [...]
Treasury to scrap valuation quango amid efficiency drive April 28, 2025 The Valuation Office Agency will be folded into HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the tax minister has said, in the latest sign of the government’s efforts to trim away fat from the operations of the state. The arms length body responsible for valuing properties to determine tax rates, which spans £60bn worth of valuation each [...]
Ex-City minister calls for ‘urgent No10 summit’ with bosses and watchdogs April 23, 2025 A former City minister has called on the Prime Minister to convene an “urgent No10 summit” with the City of London and financial watchdogs in a bid to boost capital markets. During Prime Ministers’ Questions (PMQs), the Conservative MP John Glen asked Sir Keir Starmer to take the step to “steward our pension assets”. Glen, [...]
Dollar movements spark ‘Trussonomics’ fears with worst case scenario ‘no longer unthinkable’ April 16, 2025 The dollar’s worst case scenario is “no longer unthinkable,” economists have warned, as some draw parallels with the crisis in UK financial markets during the Liz Truss premiership. Alongside plummeting stocks and falling bond prices, the US currency has weakened in the wake of Trump’s erratic tariff agenda, with growing concerns that its status as [...]
Tax return: Keir Starmer paid more than £54,000 last year April 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has paid more than £54,000 in tax from 2023-2024, it has been revealed, as book royalties and interest on savings pushed the PM’s income into the top tax bracket. The Prime Minister, who published his tax return for the first time since Labour took power, paid £54,718 in tax, according to the [...]
British Steel: No10 ‘confident’ it will secure materials to keep plant running April 14, 2025 The UK government is confident it will beat a race against time to keep the British Steel furnaces running after taking control of the plant from Chinese owners Jingye this weekend. Civil servants and steel workers were rushing to secure the raw materials to keep the Scunthorpe site’s furnaces going – which supply Network Rail [...]
Deutsche Bank: The market has ‘lost faith’ in US assets April 9, 2025 A “remarkable” sell-off in the dollar and US Treasuries suggests global markets have lost faith in American assets, and risks sparking an “outright financial war” that could force the Federal Reserve into another round of quantitative easing, Deutsche Bank’s top FX analyst has warned. In a wide-ranging note on Wednesday, George Saravelos said that the [...]
US tariffs: Reeves stresses ‘imperative’ to improve UK-EU trading relations April 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves has stressed it is “imperative” for the UK to improve its trading relationship with the European Union (EU), amid US President Donald Trump’s global trade tariff war. The Chancellor’s comments emerged in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) ahead of a crucial summit with EU leaders in London next month. Reeves told [...]
Rachel Reeves approval rating one point above Trump with UK voters, poll finds April 7, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ approval ratings have slumped since March leaving her just one point more popular than US President Donald Trump with UK voters, a poll has found. The Chancellor’s net approval ratings have declined by 12 points since delivering her Spring Statement last month, leaving Reeves at net -43, just one point above Trump on [...]
Scrapping non-doms could cost UK up to £111bn by 2035, ASI think tank claims April 5, 2025 Scrapping the non-doms tax status could cost the UK up to £111bn by 2035, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is warning. The UK could also lose some 44,000 jobs by 2030 if the government enacts its plans to abolish the scheme, the free-market group has suggested. These figures are based on just over half [11,050] [...]