Bank of England policymaker urges faster interest rate cuts July 2, 2025 Bank of England dove Alan Taylor has urged his colleagues on the Monetary Policy Committee to vote for faster interest rate cuts to allow a “soft landing” on the inflation path. Bank officials voted to hold interest rates at 4.25 per cent in June, with inflation bouncing back up to 3.4 per cent in April [...]
Reeves on growth ‘hell slide’ after welfare U-turn as rebels call for wealth tax July 2, 2025 Rachel Reeves faces a “hell slide” in her ambition to balance economic growth with her “iron clad” fiscal rules following Labour’s U-turn on welfare. The Chancellor had hoped government plans for welfare reform would shed £5bn in spending as they targeted restrictions on personal independence payments (PIP) and limited the sickness-related element of universal credit. The [...]
Welfare: Starmer’s authority shattered as Reeves faces £5bn headache July 2, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has suffered a devastating hit to his authority whilst a £5bn spending headache looms for Rachel Reeves following the government’s u-turn to avoid a catastrophic defeat of its welfare bill. Just days away from his one year anniversary in Downing Street, the PM faced the most substantial backbench rebellion of his premiership [...]
Labour urged to scrap state pension triple lock July 2, 2025 The government should scrap the £145bn triple lock on the state pension and employers should automatically contribute to private pensions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. Labour’s election manifesto last year said it would commit to keeping the state pension, while the Conservative Party pitched a ‘triple lock plus’ pension that would increase [...]
Secure Trust Bank: Jobs at risk as lender exits motor finance July 2, 2025 Specialist lender Secure Trust Bank has announced a “strategic pivot” away from its motor finance division in a bid to boost returns. The group said it will pause new lending within its vehicle finance division and “run off” its existing book, meaning it will manage its current portfolio until it naturally winds down. The bank [...]
Keir Starmer urged to slash number of graduate visas July 2, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been urged to scrap the graduate visa for thousands of international students as universities have provided “backdoor access” for longer-term settlement, according to a leading think tank. The government unveiled its immigration white paper aimed at getting net migration levels down, with the period during which graduates are able to [...]
Financial advisers sound alarm on lack of support for SMEs July 2, 2025 Financial advisers have raised concern about the lack of support for small businesses in government policy as firms feel the pinch of economic pressures. Over half of advisers surveyed by alternative lender Thincats branded government policy as unsupportive of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whilst just six per cent said it was supportive. Small businesses [...]
Starmer abandons key welfare reforms July 1, 2025 Keir Starmer has suffered a crushing blow to his authority after rebel Labour MPs forced him to effectively abandon his flagship welfare reform proposals after chaotic scenes in the House of Commons. Just 90 minutes before the vote, and several hours into a heated debate, the government announced it was pulling a key measure of [...]
Santander snaps up TSB Bank for £2.9bn July 1, 2025 Santander UK has acquired high street bank TSB in a landmark £2.9bn deal that will significantly beef up the lender’s market share. The bank’s bid for an all-cash takeover from its Spanish peer Banco Sabadell values TSB at five times its expected 2026 net income. TSB will add five million customers, £34bn in mortgages and [...]
Badenoch: Welfare ‘fudge’ driven by ‘panic not principle’ July 1, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has branded Labour’s welfare reforms a “fudge” that will fail to curb the government’s spiralling welfare bill on health and disability benefits. MPs are set to vote on work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall’s welfare bill aimed at getting more inactive Brits back into the national workforce by changing eligibility for personal independence [...]