PMQs: Starmer won’t confirm if Chagos deal money included in defence rise February 26, 2025 Keir Starmer has declined to confirm whether money spent on the Chagos Islands deal will be included in the rise in defence spending. The UK is in talks with Mauritius about handing over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory but leasing back the strategic Diego Garcia military base, which the US uses. The Prime [...]
Spring could prove to be an economic washout February 26, 2025 A modest burst of warm weather towards the end of last week may have coaxed the snowdrops and bluebells into life but don’t go dusting off the BBQ, as the cold isn’t done with us yet. Meteorologically speaking, Spring kicks in on 1 March but forecasters say the first month of the new season is [...]
‘Productivity argument’ against family firm tax breaks, IFS director argues February 25, 2025 There is a “productivity argument” against treating family businesses “generously”, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director has argued, when asked about inheritance tax. Economist Paul Johnson addressed the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in Westminster on Tuesday, which saw environment secretary Steve Reed’s speech interrupted by farming protestors, as well as NFU president Tom [...]
Legal watchdog re-examines Jonathan Reynolds solicitor claim February 25, 2025 The legal regulator said it will look at the Jonathan Reynolds claim to be a solicitor again after it became "aware of further information"
Defence spending to rise to 2.5 per cent by 2027 via aid cuts, Starmer confirms February 25, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has announced the “biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War” as he confirmed the UK would spend 2.5 per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] by 2027. The Prime Minister unveiled the policy in a statement to the House of Commons after reports he was set [...]
Reynolds sorry for calling himself solicitor but denies ‘misrepresentating’ February 25, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has apologised for describing himself as a solicitor in Parliament, but has insisted he was not “misrepresenting myself professionally”. The business secretary has been accused of claiming to have been a solicitor, despite only ever being a trainee, before becoming an MP, including in a 2014 speech in the House of Commons, on [...]
UK government aligns with US with AI regulation delays February 25, 2025 The UK government has postponed its plans to introduce legislation regulating artificial intelligence (AI), as ministers reassess their approach in light of the US’s de-regulatory stance on AI. The proposed bill aimed to require AI companies to submit large language models (LLMs), like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for testing by the UK’s AI safety institute. It was [...]
London Stock Exchange boss: UK needs to change ‘perverse’ view on retail investment February 25, 2025 "We have a regulatory structure that has historically made it easier to buy a riskier product and then hardest to buy the least risky product in the stack, which is perverse," she said.
Inheritance tax: Ministers urged to ‘do right thing’ ahead of farming summit February 25, 2025 The government is being urged to “do the right thing” over its plan to bring in inheritance tax for farm businesses worth more than £1m, following months of protests by farmers. Ministers are being encouraged to “reset” their relationship with Britain’s farmers, ahead of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference on Tuesday. President Tom Bradshaw [...]
UK legal sector ‘open for business’, with new Arbitration Act, minister says February 24, 2025 The UK is “open for business” as the new Arbitration Act received royal assent, the courts and legal services minister has said. The new law, which is aiming to boost the UK ranking in modern dispute resolution and attract international business, passed the final legislative hurdle today [Monday]. It aims to make arbitration fairer and [...]