Starmer refuses to commit 3 per cent defence spending despite ‘battle-ready’ claim June 2, 2025 Keir Starmer has been criticised for failing to commit to increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP. The Prime Minister vowed to put in place the “largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War,” with a 2.5 per cent share of GDP going to defence. However, the PM maintained that hitting [...]
Business growth expectations fall to weakest since 2022 June 2, 2025 Growth expectations among private sector firms continue to decline rapidly, fresh figures suggest, with forecasts reaching their lowest since September 2022. According to the CBI’s recent Growth Indicator survey, 30 per cent more private sector firms are expecting activity to fall than to grow over the next three months. “There is little sign of summer [...]
Reeves’ tax raids and tariff woes strain UK manufacturers June 2, 2025 British manufacturers continued to struggle in May, despite a surprise minor uptick, as tax hikes and tariffs weighed on firms. S&P Global’s latest PMI survey, which asks around 600 industrial companies about their performance, revealed manufacturers were still battling a tirade of challenges. The latest figure edged up to 46.4 in May, compared to 45.4 [...]
Andy Haldane: Reeves ‘not even close’ on growth after ‘rookie errors’ June 2, 2025 The Bank of England’s former Chief Economist has slammed Rachel Reeves’ first near-full year as Chancellor as “disappointing”, with the government “not even close to doing enough” on growth. Less than two weeks out from the 11 June spending review, Andy Haldane told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that there have been “mistakes, rookie errors” that have [...]
Monzo: Fintech unicorn tops £1bn in revenue on road to landmark IPO June 2, 2025 UK fintech giant Monzo reported its second consecutive year of profitability on Monday after the neobank’s revenue climbed above £1bn for the first time. The firm’s revenue increased 48 per cent to £1.2bn as it reported huge expansion across business arms amid rising expectations for a London flotation in the coming months. Customer deposits jumped [...]
UK must be prepared for conflict in Europe or Atlantic, defence review to conclude June 2, 2025 The UK plans to build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines, it will be announced on Monday as the government unveils its strategic defence review. The 130-page document will conclude UK must prepare for conflict in Europe or the Atlantic and move to “war-fighting readiness” as a countermeasure to Russian aggression. But Sir Keir [...]
Reeves’ spending review ‘natural point’ to boost defence -IFS June 1, 2025 The Chancellor’s upcoming spending review provides a “natural point” to put the UK on the path to further boost defence spending, an economic think tank has said. Defence and NHS spending will dominate the review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in an analysis. It said Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices on 11 [...]
UK fintech: Can Britain’s booming sector conquer Europe and the US? June 1, 2025 UK fintechs have transformed the British banking landscape – and firms are fixing their eyes on international endeavours. Top names ballooned profits and customers bases over the last year whilst picking up a fleet of accolades. London-based Allica Bank was dubbed the UK’s fastest growing private company by The Times Hundred and Europe’s fastest growing start-up by Sifted. [...]
Spending review: Government poised to boost NHS and defence sector June 1, 2025 The government’s spending review is likely to focus on the UK’s health and defence sectors, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests. The spending review, which will be published on 11 June, will allocate departmental funding and budgets for the next three to four years. It has been the subject of speculation [...]
‘No doubt’ UK will spend three per cent of GDP on defence by mid-2030s, Healey says May 31, 2025 Defence spending at three per cent of GDP by 2034 is a firm commitment, John Healey has said. The government has previously set out its “ambition to reach three per cent in the next parliament”, after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027. But the [...]