Healey: Defence investment is Starmer’s ‘highest priority’ April 10, 2026 Defence secretary John Healey has said defence investment is the Prime Minister’s “highest priority” as military officials wait for a long-awaited strategy paper on procurement and spending. At the London Defence Conference, Healey said Sir Keir Starmer has taken a “personal interest” in drafting the Defence Investment Plan, which was due to be published last [...]
Mahmood agenda bites: Migrant worker applications nearly halve in a year April 9, 2026 The number of applications for skilled worker visas has nearly halved in a year after home secretary Shabana Mahmood raised the barriers to entry for migrants. Official data released by the Home Office showed that there were 34,700 skilled worker visa applications in the year to March. This was a 44 per cent decrease from [...]
Taxpayers brace for a financial hit after personal allowance rule change April 9, 2026 British taxpayers are bracing for a fresh financial hit as changes to the personal allowance creeps closer. While the personal allowance itself is not changing, remaining frozen at £12,570 until 2031, a subtle change will take effect from the next tax year, as the government places a new lock onto how it is applied, affecting [...]
Fuel shortages, hunger, inflation spiral: IMF fears ‘scarring’ harm from Iran war April 9, 2026 Several fuel shortages, hunger and spiralling inflation will be some of the consequences of the Iran war as the head of the International Monetary Fund said that it would leave “scarring effects” on the global economy. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, global policymakers were warned that trade disruption across the [...]
‘Dragged out of the dark ages’: Investment industry welcomes risk warnings review April 9, 2026 The UK investment industry has welcomed the findings of the Risk Warnings Review, emphasising the need to remove the extremes-focused view on investing. The review, a study commissioned by the Chancellor as part of the Leeds Reforms, found that consumers’ perception of risk has seriously hindered investing in the UK, with the state of risk [...]
Firms barred from speaking to lawyers before ‘workers’ rights police’ raid April 9, 2026 Bosses will be barred from seeking legal advice if the government’s new workers’ rights police choose to raid their company’s property unannounced, under new powers handed to it as part of Labour’s flagship employment rights overhaul. Fresh documents outlining the role of the Fair Work Agency reveal business will not be able to delay the [...]
The UK’s risk aversion culture is holding back investment April 9, 2026 The UK perception of investment risk is holding back a wave of capital into equities as Brits continue to view the stock market as a casino and squirrel their savings away in the safety of cash. The UK investment sector has become plagued by the widespread, standardised use of risk warnings, which instead of telling [...]
Close Brothers and First Rand look to park motor finance row April 8, 2026 After countless speed bumps, sharp handbreak turns and a fair few false starts, the two banks that took the motor finance scandal to the top finally look to put it in the rearview mirror. Close Brothers and Aldermore owner First Rand have sought to wrap up the over two-year long saga after the financial watchdog [...]
‘Significant backlog’ for Tribunal cases as new workers’ rights come into law April 8, 2026 Concerns have been raised about the “ongoing and significant” backlog at the Employment Tribunal as new worker rights come into play this week. The Law Society, while welcoming the launch of the Fair Work Agency (FWA), raised concerns that the new agency will be equipped to tackle the case backlog. Between Monday and Tuesday, a [...]
Blue Owl Capital outlook cut to negative amid private credit woes April 8, 2026 The outlook on Blue Owl Capital’s flagship fund has been downgraded to negative by a leading ratings firm in the latest blow to the industry as it continues to be plagued by investors pulling money from funds. Moody’s Ratings changed its outlook from stable to negative after “significantly higher-than-peer redemption requests in the first financial [...]