Budget Day dawns: Bosses are ‘concerned and apprehensive’ October 30, 2024 Business leaders are concerned and apprehensive as Budget day dawns and firms from start-ups to Square Mile stalwarts wait with bated breath for Rachel Reeves to reveal the extent of the tax rises contained in the government’s first fiscal event after 14 years out of power. Pollsters asked bosses and senior executives to select from [...]
You can’t rebuild Britain by punishing people who build businesses October 30, 2024 Today, the Chancellor will attempt to write this government into a grand historical narrative that stretches back in Labour folklore to 1945. It was then, Rachel Reeves will say this afternoon, that the Labour Party “rebuilt our country out of the rubble of the Second World War.” Moving forward a couple of decades she will [...]
Budget 2024: No10 claim Hunt trying to ‘blame referee’ as OBR row heats up October 29, 2024 Jeremy Hunt is trying to “blame the referee” amid a row over an OBR review into the previous government’s departmental spending plans, No10 has claimed. The former Chancellor has criticised the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for choosing to publish its findings as to whether it was given adequate financial information from Conservative ministers ahead [...]
Convenience stores issued £634m warning ahead of Budget October 29, 2024 A lobby group has warned convenience stores could be set for a huge bill next year as tax hikes are expected to be included in the Autumn Budget. The Association of Convenience Stores has said the sector will face a potential bill of £634m due to wage increases, plus changes to National Insurance contributions and [...]
How Network Rail is planning to stop the ‘Euston rush’ October 29, 2024 A plan to reduce the number of passengers rushing to platforms at Euston station in London has been revealed by Network Rail. The Government-owned company is to allow passengers travelling on around 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast services from the London station to board trains 20 minutes before departure. Network Rail said this [...]
Jonathan Reynolds ‘open to reviving China trade talks’ October 29, 2024 Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said he is “open to having a conversation” about reviving trade talks with China. The cabinet minister told Politico he was “certainly” prepared to discuss reopening the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO), which was set up to improve bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. It was [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Minimum wage set for above inflation hike October 29, 2024 Firms could be set to face higher payroll costs as the minimum wage is reportedly set to increase by more than six per cent at Wednesday’s Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce an above inflation raise that is higher than was predicted last month, according to the Times newspaper. It will result in [...]
Rachel Reeves needs to be able to sell her borrowing to the market October 29, 2024 The first female Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, fears following in the footsteps of the last female Prime Minister in her Autumn Budget statement. The Gilt market sell-off in the wake of the Truss/Kwarteng fiscal event two years ago didn’t just cast a huge shadow over the Conservative Party; it reminded all politicians that financial markets can [...]
First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under rumored Budget change October 28, 2024 First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under changes rumored to be included in the Autumn budget. It has been rumoured that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will rule out any changes to stamp duty land tax in the Budget. Stamp duty land tax currently applies to homes costing over £250,000, but in March [...]
Jeremy Hunt accuses OBR of making a ‘political intervention’ over Labour’s blackhole review October 28, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has used the supposed existence of the £22bn blackhole as a justification to hike taxes in Wednesday's Budget.