UK net migration hit record 906,000 peak before 20 per cent fall November 28, 2024 Net migration in and out of the UK has dropped by 20 per cent to around 728,000 in the past year, official figures have shown, after hitting a record peak of 906,000. The level reached a higher than previously thought figure of 906,000 in the year to June 2023, according to fresh data from the [...]
Ministers are in denial over the Budget’s impact on jobs and growth November 28, 2024 Well, that didn’t last long. Barely 48 hours after the Chancellor told the CBI conference that the tax-hiking Budget was definitely a one-off, Keir Starmer declined to echo her comments and instead left the door wide open to another round of tax increases and borrowing. We ought to have some sympathy; no Prime Minister can [...]
Consumer confidence in the economy dips following Budget November 28, 2024 The British Retail Consortium's (BRC) sentiment monitor showed that consumers' confidence in the economy fell back to -19 in November, down two points from October.
The truth about wealth inequality November 28, 2024 The distribution of wealth in the economy has attracted more and more attention among economists following a wealth boom that lasted for four decades. Between 1980 and 2019, British household wealth increased from three to seven-times national income, as cheap credit helped to fuel consistent rises in house prices. “For much of the past four [...]
Starmer refuses to rule out further tax rises or more borrowing November 27, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out further tax rises or additional borrowing when challenged to repeat his Chancellor’s pledge not to “come back with more”. During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch asked Starmer about Rachel Reeves’ words. She said: “At the Confederation [...]
Reeves played fast and loose with business leaders’ trust November 26, 2024 Not long ago, Rachel Reeves would have been right at home in a room full of business leaders and employers. During the election campaign it was comfortable territory for the aspiring Chancellor who reassured the private sector at every turn that Labour would be “the most pro-business government the country has ever seen.” Now, just [...]
Unemployment hotspots to get more NHS funding under new back to work plan November 26, 2024 Places with the highest levels of joblessness will get extra NHS support as the government bids to “get Britain working again”. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will announce the plans today as part of wide-ranging reforms designed to tackle economic inactivity and deliver the government’s promise to bring more than two million people back [...]
‘We’ve made our decisions’- Don’t expect Budget rethink, Reeves implies November 25, 2024 Rachel Reeves has implied she won’t rethink her Budget measures in the wake of backlash from business, saying: “We’ve made our decisions.” The Chancellor appeared at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday in a fireside chat with Keith Anderson, the chief executive of Scottish Power. She was asked by ITV about [...]
Conservatives ‘lost the confidence’ of business, Badenoch admits November 25, 2024 The Conservatives “lost the confidence of business” at the July general election and firms “knew we were going to lose”, Kemi Badenoch has admitted. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday, the Tory leader told attendees Labour’s Budget had got the diagnosis wrong, leading to an “unprecedented raid on businesses”. [...]
CBI chief: Ministers must ‘co-design’ economic growth with businesses post-Budget November 25, 2024 Businesses should have a stronger voice in setting economic growth policies, the boss of an influential business lobby group has urged, including a shift from “consultation to co-design”. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), told attendees at the group’s annual conference that the government and firms share a “vision of [...]