Business activity rebounds but Budget nerves could damage growth Business UK private sector activity marked its largest monthly rise of the year in October, but momentum could be shattered by increasing Budget speculation. According to the latest business trends report from accountancy firm BDO, which measures businesses turnover and economic activity, output rose to 97.49 past month, up from 96.25 in September. This marked the [...]
Resident doctor strike turnout is down, NHS chief says Politics Strike turnout is down, the chief executive of the NHS has said, as resident doctors continue their five-day action over pay and conditions. Sir James Mackey said there are “some really encouraging early indications” that fewer resident doctors are striking than in any of the previous 12 rounds of industrial action. Medics in England walked [...]
Treasury ‘buries’ farming report until after Budget in inheritance tax blow Politics A government-commissioned review that shows the financial pressures on the farming industry has been “buried” by the Treasury until after the Autumn Budget, Whitehall sources claim. The review which was carried out by a former president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Baroness Batters, is understood to lay bare concerns among farmers over Chancellor Rachel [...]
Home Secretary: Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” November 16, 2025 Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” in the UK and must be brought under control to maintain consent for any form of asylum system, the Home Secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood said the Government needed to “deal with the pull factors that draw people in the first place” as she plans to announce a new [...]
International students should not be treated as migrants November 15, 2025 Framing a tax on students as a migration control is a misguided move that punishes one of Britain's greatest assets, says Virenda Sharma.
Exclusive: Industry chiefs warn Reeves not to hit business after income tax U-turn November 14, 2025 The Chancellor must not rely on businesses to plug the gaping fiscal gap left by Thursday’s income tax U-turn, a group of industry body chiefs has warned a year after UK firms were forced to stomach much of the £40bn of tax hikes at Labour’s maiden Budget. In an unusual combined intervention, bosses from five [...]
Redbird pulls out of deal for The Telegraph November 14, 2025 Redbird has pulled out of its £500m bid to buy the Daily Telegraph in a move that will plunge the broadsheet into further uncertainty and leaves the paper without a long-term owner for more than two-and-a-half years. The US private equity giant had been the sole buyer willing to stump up the half a billion-pound [...]
Autumn Budget: What does the income tax U-turn mean for your salary? November 14, 2025 In a major U-turn, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ is understood to have ripped up plans to hike income tax in the looming Autumn Budget. Reeves was poised to hitch up income tax by 2p at the end of the month, whilst cutting national insurance – for lower earners – by the same amount. While the decision [...]
Budget chaos: Thresholds tax raid would make middle earners £3,000 worse off November 14, 2025 Lowering and freezing income tax thresholds would make a worker earning £44,000 as much as £3,000 worse off, as the Treasury appears to have ruled out an income tax rise in the 26 November Budget. Analysis from Quilter has revealed that extending the current freeze alone would add an extra £843 tax bill to middle [...]
Lloyds and Natwest shares fall in ‘perfect combination’ of fears November 14, 2025 Lloyds and Natwest shares were among the top fallers on the FTSE 100 index on Friday as a combination of fears weighed upon City stocks. The FTSE 350 bank index lost 2.17 per cent over the course of the day amid a widespread sell off across the blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 fell 1.1 per [...]