Bank of England to delay interest rates decision – by two minutes May 6, 2025 The Bank of England will delay the release of its latest decision on interest rates this Thursday – by two minutes. The highly unusual change was made to accommodate a two-minute silence to commemorate Victory in Europe Day this week. It means Brits will only be informed about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s decision to [...]
How to shield your pension from Labour’s inheritance tax raid May 6, 2025 According to new analysis by Quilter, just two per cent of estates subject to inheritance tax (IHT) are currently taking advantage of surplus income gifting to reduce their tax liabilities. Based on freedom of information (FOI) requests carried out by the wealth management firm, just 1,490 estates are currently taking advantage of the rules, but Quilter expects [...]
UK services sent into decline amid ‘market turbulence’ May 6, 2025 UK output was sent into decline by “market turbulence” in April for the first time in one and a half years, prompting fears that Chancellor Reeves’ £40bn tax raid last autumn was damaging the country’s services economy. The services sector, which is seen as the engine behind UK growth, had been on a 17-month winning [...]
Non-dom exodus could cost the Treasury £12.2bn May 6, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to remove tax exemptions for non-doms could lead to “billions” in losses from the public purse, new research has suggested, in a blow to the Treasury’s fiscal plans. Reeves followed through with manifesto pledges by removing tax exemptions from mega-rich non-domiciled individuals at last year’s Autumn Budget, something the Office for [...]
Home Office to clamp down on visa overstays amid pressure from Farage May 6, 2025 New Home Office rules would put curbs on work and study visas from nationalities most at risk of overstaying and going on to claim asylum as part of Labour’s push to reduce net migration. Applications from Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans are among those set to be restricted, according to a report in The Times. [...]
Tories take note: Reform will come at Labour from the left May 6, 2025 As the dust settles on the local elections, party leaders will be busy trying to identify the right lessons. For the Conservatives, the picture is both clear and complicated. As Kemi Badenoch put it, her party faced a “bloodbath” in councils across the country. That’s the clear bit. The complicated bit concerns what she should [...]
When words matter more than numbers at the Bank of England May 5, 2025 City analysts have pencilled in their predictions for Thursday. Here’s how almost all of them likely read. Interest rates will be cut to 4.25 per cent, the Bank of England’s inflation forecast for this year will exceed its two per cent target and President Trump’s tariffs will be highlighted as a detriment to UK growth. [...]
UK police arrest seven Iranians in counter-terrorism probes May 4, 2025 Counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men, seven of whom are Iranian nationals, in two separate investigations, the Metropolitan Police said on Sunday. On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals between the ages of 29 and 40, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offences over a plot to target a specific premises. The [...]
MP defends ‘human cost’ of assisted dying bill after impact assessment May 3, 2025 Assisted dying is about the “human cost” and not pounds and pence, the MP behind the proposed legislation has said after an assessment of the potential costs. An impact assessment into the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was published on Friday, exactly a fortnight ahead of the next Commons debate on the proposed [...]
Reform’s local election sweep puts Starmer and Badenoch in hot seat May 3, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch face pressure to reverse their parties’ fortunes after the local elections saw Reform UK make major gains across England. Nigel Farage hailed the results as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party” as Reform picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in [...]