‘Vicious and damaging’: Council tax overhaul set to end decades of financial ruin fears April 16, 2026 Brits will be granted more time to settle outstanding council tax bills under fresh reforms, ending decades of “vicious” collections which have left many on the brink of financial ruin. The shake up to the administration of bills sparks the first changes since 1993, after the lack of updating to fit modern needs and shifting [...]
UK economy jumped above forecasts before Iran war April 16, 2026 The UK economy was growing ahead of expectations before the war in the Middle East erupted, official data has shown. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP grew by 0.5 per cent over February, though City analysts have suggested the figures are “too good to be true” given trends seen in recent years. In [...]
Reeves says diplomacy is ‘best economy policy’ as UK tax burden to mount April 15, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that de-escalating the war in the Middle East is the “best economic policy” to protect growth as the International Monetary Fund showed the UK tax burden was set to deepen at a faster pace than any country. Speaking at a CNBC event in Washington, Reeves doubled down on her attacks [...]
Standard Life’s Briggs warns ‘retirement adequacy is a genuine concern’, as £2bn Aegon deal unveiled April 15, 2026 The boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has spoken out on the state of the nation’s retirement financing on the day he unveiled a blockbuster industry takeover. Andy Briggs, chief executive of Standard Life, told City AM that “retirement adequacy is a genuine concern” and pointed to further potential dealmaking. He noted [...]
Britain’s energy future is bright – but we still need Ed Drilliband April 15, 2026 Amid soaring oil prices and growing fears of jet fuel shortages, it feels as though Britain is trapped in an energy permacrisis of its own making. So here’s a note of optimism to counter the doom and gloom: Britain has a bright energy future ahead of it. A few examples: Nuclear power output is going [...]
‘I will not yield’: Starmer dismisses Trump’s trade threat as ‘pressure’ April 15, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed President Donald Trump’s threat to change a trade deal struck between the US and the UK as “pressure”. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used a question in parliament to say Trump had treated the UK “like a mafia boss running a protection racket” after he threatened to change a [...]
Fix consumer attitudes to boost stock market participation, say industry experts April 15, 2026 Consumer anxiety over how to invest is the single-biggest barrier to getting more people to enter the stock market, fresh research has found. Targeted support was found most effective when focusing on consumer’s perceived attitudes of investing and the stock market, ultimately increasing investment by at least 30 per cent, according to new findings from [...]
Starmer hits back at defence spending attacks April 15, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he disagrees with allegations of “complacency” on funding the armed forces amid renewed scrutiny over the Labour’s defence spending plans. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer hit back at widespread backlash over the absence of the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which was due last autumn. He told MPs that he didn’t [...]
Bank of England could cut interest rates ‘if war ends’ April 15, 2026 The Bank of England could cut interest rates this year if the war in Iran ends and the Strait of Hormuz opens up within weeks, an economist at a City broker has said. Peel Hunt’s chief economist Kallum Pickering’s current assumption is that the Bank makes two interest rate cuts at the end of this [...]
Bank of England: Andrew Bailey warns AI models could ‘crack’ cyber systems April 15, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that a new AI model designed by a Silicon Valley company could “crack” cybersecurity systems, adding that the the technology poses a continuous challenge for key institutions. Speaking at an event in New York, Bailey suggested Mythos Claude, which was created by Anthropic, presented a threat to [...]