Apollo-backed group makes £5.7bn swoop for Pension Insurance Corporation July 4, 2025 Athora – the European insurance group backed by US private equity giant Apollo – has struck a £5.7bn takeover deal for the UK’s Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). The acquisition will create a group with combined assets worth near £112m and covering the pensions of more than three million people across Europe. The takeover marks one [...]
How much tax do you pay above £100k? Britain’s highest earners in numbers July 4, 2025 A growing number of Brits have seen their salaries hit £100k – but a growing number are also feeling underwhelmed after having crossed the threshold. What accounts for their disappointment? There were as many as 1.35m taxpayers earning over £100,000 in the UK during the 2022/23 tax year, an increase of around 16 per cent [...]
Government has ‘lost track’ of illegal migrants working in the UK, MPs warn July 4, 2025 The UK government has lost track of the number of migrants who have overstayed visas and what happens to people who have had their sponsorship withdrawn, senior MPs have warned in a devastating blow to Labour’s bid to restore credibility with voters on migration. Keir Starmer’s government pledged to restore control over UK borders and [...]
Starmer’s had a bad year – here’s what he must do next July 4, 2025 Following a chaotic and deeply damaging row over welfare cuts, Keir Starmer can’t afford any more cock-ups, says Douglas Beattie A year ago the general election campaign was closing and the country was about to vote for the first Labour government in 14 years. A year on, many at the top of the party accept [...]
Bank of England ‘open minded’ on use of stablecoins in wholesale markets July 3, 2025 A director at the Bank of England has said Britain’s central bank is “open minded” on the use of stablecoins in wholesale markets in a marked softening of its stance in the technology. Speaking at the City Week conference, Sasha Mills, Executive director of Financial Market Infrastructure, said the Bank was “considering” what role stablecoins [...]
Wes Streeting accused of issuing ‘misleading’ plan on NHS staffing July 3, 2025 Health secretary Wes Streeting has been accused of issuing “misleading information” on staffing practice at the NHS, with plans to end the use of agencies by 2030 a “short-sighted” move that could push up costs for the taxpayer. Streeting today unveiled Labour’s 10-year plan for the NHS focussed on rolling out weight-loss drugs, reducing people’s [...]
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out £40bn tax raid July 3, 2025 Keir Starmer has refused to rule out that this year’s Autumn Budget will be softer than the tax raid seen last year, which targeted business and homeowners in raising £40bn extra in receipts. The prime minister has previously said that the UK cannot “tax [its] way to growth” while under-pressure Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to [...]
Watch: Labour’s ‘total clusterf**k’ July 3, 2025 It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Exactly a year ago the Labour government swept into office promising stability, competence and economic growth. So why, on the one year anniversary of their victory, does it feel like their dying days? This has been a pretty extraordinary week in British politics and it’s a week that [...]
Consumer spending drives ‘healthy pickup’ for UK businesses July 3, 2025 Consumer and business spending has led to a “healthy pickup” in business activity, fresh research has suggested, despite concerns income had been squeezed by higher taxes and energy bills. The Labour government was recently dealt a blow as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the UK economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in April, [...]
Gilts back to where they were before Rachel Reeves’ tears July 3, 2025 UK government bonds have settled back to prices seen before Rachel Reeves was seen crying at PMQs as bond markets were soothed by Keir Starmer’s warm words about the chancellor. The prime minister said Rachel Reeves was a “great colleague” and re-affirmed she would be the chancellor for “a very long time to come”. Bond [...]