Optimism picking up after ‘disruptive’ Budget, says Paragon chief January 27, 2026 Optimism in the UK is beginning to pick up, the boss of FTSE 250 lender Paragon has said, after sentiment was dampened by rampant tax speculation in the second half of 2025. Nigel Terrington, the boss of Paragon bank, told City AM that despite it being the early days of 2026, the mood was beginning [...]
Starmer under fire over China trip amid phone-hacking revelations January 27, 2026 Keir Starmer is under fire over his a trade-focused trip to China this week as further reports of espionage emerged. Chinese officials are believed to have hacked the phones of key government officials, according to The Telegraph. Hackers targeted top aides to UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, intelligence sources [...]
Starmer caps ground rents after fears of Rayner-led rebellion January 27, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has introduced a cap on ground rents following fears of an MP rebellion led by the former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. The Prime Minister announced the new move – which will cap ground rents at £250 a year for leaseholders in England and Wales – on TikTok, saying it will “make [...]
FTSE 100 Live: HSBC carries blue-chips; Starmer eyes China trade January 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Gold’s magnificent rally was continuing on Tuesday morning after breaking through the $5,100 mark for the first time. The flurry to safe haven assets notched up after Trump threatened Canada with 100 per cent tariffs if the country “made a deal with China”. Last week [...]
Labour ministers, please stop begging us to celebrate your tiny wins January 27, 2026 The housing secretary has decried newspapers for burying good news, but Labour's tiny upticks in tiny numbers are hardly worth celebration.
Save billions by reforming ‘unsustainable’ public sector pensions January 26, 2026 Moving new public sector employees onto defined contribution (DC) pension schemes could save taxpayers £37bn a year in the long run, a new report has found. The report, produced by Policy Exchange, argues that moving public sector workers onto a DC scheme would also send an “important signal” to the bond market that the government [...]
Revolution Bars owner appoints administrators as hospitality crisis deepens January 26, 2026 Dozens of bars up and down the country could soon shut their doors for the last time as one of Britain’s best-known hospitality groups prepares to appoint administrators. Revel Collective, which owns more than sixty venues comprising the Revolution Bars group as well as the Peach pub chain, said it expects to appoint administrators within [...]
Burnham was Labour’s best chance to stop Reform’s rise January 26, 2026 Blocking Andy Burnham's bid to stand as an MP could cause irreparable damage if Labour now loses the by-election, writes John McTernan.
Andy Street: Conservatives can beat Reform with centre-right policies January 26, 2026 The Conservatives can beat Reform UK if it leans into pro-business policies put forward by a new centre-right group, former Birmingham mayor Andy Street has said. Street said his new political group co-founded with former Scottish Conservatives leader Baroness Davidson – and backed by dozens of former Cabinet ministers and policy officials – can help [...]
Jobless graduates claiming benefits totals 700,000, report says January 26, 2026 The number of unemployed graduates claiming benefits now totals 700,000, a new report has estimated, with blame being laid on the UK education system’s “obsession” with getting young people into university. Fresh analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found the number of jobless graduates receiving welfare support was nearing three quarters of [...]