Government borrowing surges in May to fund Labour’s spending June 20, 2025 Government borrowing in May surged to £17.7bn, official data has shown, reflecting the government’s need for cash to fund Labour’s spending splurge. This represented the second-highest May borrowing figure since records began more than 30 years ago and higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast. Fresh data published by the Office for National [...]
Alarm bells as retail sales suffer largest fall in 18 months June 20, 2025 UK high streets suffered from post-Easter fatigue among shoppers as official data showed retail sales dropped by 2.7 per cent in May. The Office for National Statistics said a fall in sales in May represented the largest month-on-month drop since December 2023. A Bloomberg poll of economists expected retail sales to drop by 0.5 per [...]
Ministers set to cut industrial energy prices for British manufacturers June 20, 2025 The government plans to slash industrial energy prices for British manufacturers, enabling them to better compete with key European rivals. Ministers will unveil a multibillion pound package of taxpayer-funded support for the UK’s most energy intensive industries, as part of the government’s industrial strategy on Monday, according to reports. Proposals to make energy prices more [...]
Ed Miliband forced to look again at North Sea oil and gas June 19, 2025 The UK government is mulling over a change to the law to oil and gas projects in the North Sea in a drive to lower energy bills. Michael Shanks, a minister working under energy secretary Ed Miliband, will be visiting Scotland on Thursday with a decision set to be made on the government’s intervention on [...]
UK growth to suffer from interest rates hold, industry warns June 19, 2025 The UK economy stands to suffer from high borrowing costs, leading industry figures have warned, after the Bank of England held interest rates at 4.25 per cent on Thursday. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) indicated that interest rate cuts could come in the coming months after a recent 25 basis point cut in May. [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates at 4.25 per cent June 19, 2025 The Bank of England has held interest rates to “squeeze out persistent inflationary pressures” amid tensions between Israel and Iran risking an alarming uptick in energy prices later this year. Officials said high inflation predictions and sticky wage growth figures had led them to opt for interest rates to be kept at 4.25 per cent [...]
Week in Business: Non-dom tax U-turn makes sense but what about the rest of us? June 19, 2025 The Chancellor is scrambling to hang on a few non-doms, but what about the tax bomb dropped on the rest of the country?
Hays: Shares tank after recruiter issues latest profit warning June 19, 2025 Hays has downgraded its annual profit guidance and issued a bleak forecast for the UK’s recruitment market. The London-listed group said it expected pre-exceptional operating profits of around £45m in 2025, well below analyst consensus of £56.4m. Shares tumbled more than 13 per cent in early deals. Firms have been grappling with increases to national [...]
Sir James Dyson is right to warn on Labour’s damaging policies June 19, 2025 Sir James Dyson knows a thing or two about how to build a business. In an impassioned piece in The Sun yesterday he reflected on his own entrepreneurial experiences, saying “It took me 5,127 prototypes, each made by hand…I was on the brink of bankruptcy before I found success.” He set out his concerns that [...]
Exclusive: Government admits fossil fuels use is cheaper than net zero technology June 19, 2025 The UK government has quietly admitted that using low-carbon technologies essential to the rapid drive to net zero are more expensive than when fossil fuels are used an energy source, City AM can reveal. Labour ministers are expected to double down on expanding the use of green technologies to lower costs as the Treasury and [...]