What was the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies? March 17, 2025 The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies is the latest (and perhaps the most obscure) victim piled upon the government’s bonfire of quangos. First there was the Payment Systems Regulator, which was rolled into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Then, Sir Keir Starmer announced his most radical health reform yet by shuttering NHS [...]
OECD slashes UK economic forecasts amid global slowdown March 17, 2025 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut the UK’s economic growth forecasts due to stubborn inflation and an escalating trade war. The OECD’s new interim report scaled back UK growth to 1.4 per cent in 2025 and 1.2 per cent in 2026 – down from previous projections of 1.7 and 1.3 per [...]
Employment dips as businesses brace for cost hikes March 17, 2025 Employment shrank by 0.4 per cent in February as small businesses prepare for rising costs, according to a new report from the hiring platform Employment Hero. In a monthly report looking at data from 105,000 employees, the company found that employment reforms and business tax hikes in the Budget have impacted hiring and employee retention. [...]
Auto Trader: FTSE 100 CEO on how to fix the London Stock Exchange March 17, 2025 The government needs to encourage more investment into companies listed on the London Stock Exchange to revive the fortunes of the City, according to the CEO of FTSE 100 giant, Auto Trader. Nathan Coe, speaking on an upcoming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, said the UK doesn’t have the same level of “encouragement [...]
Reeves to meet regulators as Starmer pledges to cut red tape March 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves will meet with regulators on Monday, as the government sets out to cut the cost of regulation on businesses by a quarter. The Chancellor has summoned eight regulators to Number 11 Downing Street, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Health and Safety Executive. Sir Keir Starmer told City AM in an [...]
I’ll cut regulation and unleash the animal spirits of the private sector March 17, 2025 In an exclusive article for City AM, the Prime Minister says “it is an outrage that government does not know how much it costs business to comply with the regulations imposed on them” and declares that his “will be the first government to baseline these costs” – before slashing them. Last week, I set out [...]
Over half of business leaders expect a recession this year March 17, 2025 Business leaders’ confidence is at a “crossroads” just weeks ahead of the Government’s tax hikes kicking in, according to fresh research. BCG’s Centre for Growth surveyed 1,500 bosses in its “State of UK Business” report and found 57 per think a recession is likely this year. This follows Friday’s release from the Office for National [...]
Reeves ramps up pressure on regulators in plan to slash red tape March 17, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has summoned regulators to Downing Street today as part of the government’s plan to slash red tape. At the meeting, Reeves will announce further detail on how the government will be cutting regulations, while setting out plans to slim down or abolish regulators. “Today we are taking further action to free businesses [...]
Health Secretary declines to be drawn on benefit freeze ‘speculation’ March 16, 2025 A senior minister has declined to be drawn on whether the government will freeze personal independence payment (PIP) as uncertainty continues to surround Labour’s upcoming benefits reforms. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to announce reforms on Tuesday aimed at cutting a welfare bill that ministers have described as “unsustainable”. Ahead of the [...]
Ukraine peacekeeping plans entering ‘operational phase’, Starmer says March 15, 2025 Planning for a peacekeeping force for Ukraine will move to an “operational phase”, the Prime Minister has said after a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on Saturday. Sir Keir Starmer said military chiefs would meet in London on Thursday to “put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace [...]