London tube staff to strike in September in ‘extremely concerning’ move August 21, 2025 London tube staff are set to strike over pay in early September in what industry chiefs have labelled a “damaging scenario” for sluggish growth across the capital. The rail union RMT said on Thursday that rolling strike action would begin on Friday 5 September while Docklands Light Railway staff will strike from 8 September over [...]
Week in Business: Will Reeves Launch a Massive Tax Raid on Property and Pensions? August 21, 2025 Christian May interrupts your holiday with grim news on another punishing round of tax hikes coming in the Autumn.
Services lead ‘fragile and uneven’ business activity rebound August 21, 2025 Business activity in the UK’s private sector enjoyed its strongest rebound in a year this month, but economists have cautioned the growth remains “fragile and uneven.” S&P’s Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 53.0 in August, up from 51.5 in July and marking the highest score in 12 months. Any score above [...]
Rachel Reeves’ stealth tax raid to slap extra £7,000 on high earners August 21, 2025 Rachel Reeves would force Britain’s high earners to face a mounting tax burden if she opts to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds in the autumn Budget. The Chancellor would slap an extra £7,000 in income tax on Brits earning over £100,000 if the freeze is maintained, analysis from wealth manager Rathbones reveals. An [...]
Work and study visas fall in push to reduce immigration August 21, 2025 Work visas issued to migrants have fallen by 36 per cent compared to last year, fresh data has revealed, as tightened rules on skilled workers and care providers have lowered the numbers of people arriving in the UK. The Labour government is under considerable pressure to cut net migration from previous peaks of nearly one [...]
Tax-free pension lump sum could be slashed to fill Labour’s black hole August 21, 2025 Tax-free lump sum withdrawals from pension pots could be slashed as Rachel Reeves scrambles for fresh ways to plug a £50bn hole in the public finances. The Chancellor is reportedly eyeing a cut to the amount of money pensioners can withdraw from their savings pot without paying tax to as little as £40,000. That would [...]
UK government borrowing since April hits £60bn August 21, 2025 The UK government borrowed a total of £1.1bn last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), compared to £2.3bn last year and below the fiscal watchdog’s £2.6bn forecast. The total deficit hit £60bn in the months since April, which is £6.7bn more than in the same four-month period of 2024 and the third-highest [...]
Law firm partners’ pay rockets past rest of UK workforce August 20, 2025 Partners at British law firms have seen their income rise over twice as fast as the rest of the UK workforce over the last five years. According to data shared with City AM by Bowmore Wealth Group, the income of law firm partners rose 42 per cent to an average of £307,000 over the last [...]
Atom chair: Big banks don’t know their role in economic growth August 20, 2025 The chair of digital bank Atom has slammed Britain’s banking giants for failing to drive the country’s economic ambitions. Lee Rochford, who had tenures at Virgin Money, RBS and BNP before Atom, said it was “increasingly unclear what role [top banks] are playing in driving better customer outcomes or supporting UK economic growth”. Chancellor Rachel [...]
No more interest rate cuts expected as inflation runs ‘miles above target’ August 20, 2025 No further interest rate cuts are expected to be made this year after inflation in the year to July was higher than economists forecast. Markets had priced in a 50 per cent chance of an interest rate cut being made at the Bank of England’s November meeting before fresh price growth data was published on [...]