Week in Business: Labour’s jobs madness as employers urge change of plan April 17, 2025 Business Secretary Johnny Reynolds was so fed up with people criticising him for never having run a business that he bought himself a whopping great steel mill in Scunthorpe. Now firmly a member of the boss class, will he have sympathy with the business chiefs who this week begged the government to rip up their [...]
UK-US trade deal could be agreed within weeks, as MPs call for vote April 17, 2025 A trade deal between the UK and the US could reportedly be agreed within weeks, as senior MPs have called for Parliament to have a vote on any such agreement. According to a report in the Telegraph, White House officials believe a deal with the UK could be finalised with President Donald Trump’s administration in [...]
A game of chlorinated chicken: What is the price of a US-UK trade deal? April 17, 2025 An economic deal between the UK and the US could be just weeks away. The Trump administration has made sweeping promises of a “90 deals in 90 days” package of bespoke arrangements. While deals with India, Japan and South Korea are expected to be done first, the UK is understood to be not far behind [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for youth mobility scheme to support London businesses April 17, 2025 Sir Sadiq Khan has called on the government to sign up to a youth mobility scheme with the European Union (EU) to boost London’s growth and support the capital’s businesses. The London mayor warned Britain needed protection from the “economic storm” of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new global trade tariffs, which have sparked fears [...]
The government is facing a wave of summer strikes – how will it respond? April 17, 2025 Public sector strike action is always tricky territory for Labour politicians to navigate, particularly when the party is in opposition. When strikes plagued the previous Tory government (teachers and junior doctors in particular) Labour MPs – including Keir Starmer – were quick to condemn the government while trying hard not to criticise the unions, with [...]
Has the English court unlocked diplomatic immunity problems for the UK? April 17, 2025 Diplomatic immunity is under the spotlight after several embassies found themselves before UK courts and saw their immunity stripped away
Employers should review policies as court rules definition of a woman is based on biological sex April 16, 2025 Trans women previously could be counted in female quotas on public boards, but this will no longer be the case after the landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Tourist tax: Lisa Nandy says Labour may ‘explore’ restoring VAT free shopping April 16, 2025 Lisa Nandy has said the government “could explore” restoring VAT free shopping after hearing “very loud and clear” the calls from the industry to scrap the so-called tourist tax. The culture, media and sport secretary told Elle UK magazine that fashion was in the “soul of the nation” and ministers recognised its “centrality” to the [...]
British Steel: ‘Anti-China rhetoric’ criticised as ‘absurd’ by embassy April 16, 2025 China’s embassy in Britain has criticised the “arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset” of UK politicians towards Chinese business, as it defended British Steel’s owner Jingye. It comes after Jonathan Reynolds said that the nationalisation of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe is the “likely option at this stage”, while stressing the need to secure a [...]
Stealth income tax hike will hit millions of over 60s April 16, 2025 Millions more Brits, including a significant percentage of over 60s, will be dragged into paying income tax in the coming months as Rachel Reeves squeezes the spending powers of lower earners with a freeze on tax bands. Official data suggests that around 11m Brits will begin paying the basic rate of income tax by 2028. [...]