Nigel Farage: Reform will tax the banks even if they don’t like it January 22, 2026 Nigel Farage has confirmed Reform will slap a tax on the UK’s banking giants in the latest dramatic escalation of his party’s tensions with the City. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Davos, Farage said: “This will be tough for banks to accept but I am sorry – the drain on public finances [...]
Young’s ditches AIM as pub chain eyes FTSE 250 inclusion January 22, 2026 Young’s has become the latest company to unveil plans to quit London’s small-cap stock market as the pub giant sets its sights on inclusion into the FTSE 250. The Wandsworth-based business said it will apply to join the main market of the London Stock Exchange, in a move which it said will “enhance the company’s [...]
Total UK government borrowing beats OBR forecast January 22, 2026 UK government has already borrowed more this year than the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, official data has revealed, wrapping up a difficult 12 months for Rachel Reeves as she grapples with keeping public finances safe from further shocks. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated public sector borrowing to have been £11.6bn over the [...]
Inflation remains a headache on both sides of the Atlantic January 22, 2026 Donald Trump made many claims in his Davos speech yesterday and there aren’t enough pages in this newspaper to do justice to them all, but his assertion that “inflation has been defeated” is worth considering. With midterm elections coming up Trump knows the cost of living is a real concern, just as it is here, [...]
Legal accounts controversy: Who should fund the broken justice system? January 22, 2026 First, the government tried to go after the LLPs, but that failed. Now its eyes are on law firms’ client accounts under the narrative that it will be used to help the crumbling justice system, but lawyers are seeing it as just another tax raid. Law firms earn substantial income from interest on client accounts, [...]
King’s Cross retail sales boom as reinvention continues January 22, 2026 King’s Cross retail sales rose by double digits last year as the zone’s reinvention attracts significant retail and leisure investment. Total sales across the King’s Cross estate climbed by 13.5 per cent year on year, with retail sales up by 16 per cent and food and drink sales also climbing by 10 per cent. [...]
Son-of-a-toolmaker Starmer is a poor workman January 22, 2026 Successful organisations, from businesses to governments, work best when their leaders are able to articulate a clear, long-term vision, says Paul Ormerod Keir Starmer has been complaining that the machinery of government does not work properly. When he pulls a policy lever, very little happens. This has provoked a public argument with the health secretary, [...]
Budget damage to housing market set to continue, experts warn January 22, 2026 The UK’s housing market will continue to suffer from the impact of months of budget speculation last year as seller confidence languishes, property experts have warned. While sellers and estate agents breathed a sigh of relief when November’s Budget steered clear of most of the property that had been feared, these experts told City AM [...]
Coffee and sugar drive surging food inflation January 21, 2026 Sharp increases in the cost of coffee and sugar are behind the high rate of food inflation which is one of the drivers of the surprise inflation rise. The cost of food increased at a rate of 4.5 per cent in the year to December, overshooting the overall inflation rate of 3.4 per cent by [...]
UK’s net zero drive singled out in Trump attacks January 21, 2026 The UK’s net zero policies were singled out in President Trump’s long tirade against European energy struggles at the World Economic Forum in Davos. President Trump described the UK economy’s struggles in stark terms, suggesting that the Labour government had disregarded “one of the greatest reserves in the world” at the North Sea. In his [...]