Reeves to overhaul visa system for talented migrants in Davos pitch January 20, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to talk up new visa schemes aimed at highly-skilled migrants working in tech in a pitch to business leaders and top researchers gathered at Davos. Reeves is set to talk up the Labour government’s new immigration policies as she hopes to get the attention of some of the world’s richest [...]
House affordability offers first time buyers boost but Londoners lag behind January 20, 2026 Improved house affordability has sparked an uptick in first time buyer activity over the last year, but those on lower incomes remain shut out of the housing market. Affordability constraints eased slightly, due to declining mortgage rates and wage growth surpassing house price growth, bolstering buyer demand, particularly among those taking the first step onto [...]
Kemi Badenoch tells Tory MPs: Don’t damage us from within January 19, 2026 Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has warned backbenchers not to damage the party “from within” as she called a meeting of MPs on Monday afternoon to address defections to Reform UK. Last week, Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell, the shadow minister for foreign affairs under Badenoch’s leadership, announced they had quit to join Nigel Farage’s Reform. [...]
Firms warned to make ‘contingency plans’ amid £6bn tariff hit January 19, 2026 Businesses across the UK have been warned to draw up “contingency plans” in case President Trump follows through on imposing 10 per cent tariffs on imports from major European economies next month. British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director general Shevaun Haviland warned businesses to prepare for the worst as the impact of US tariffs on [...]
High earners could be missing out on thousands in pension tax relief January 19, 2026 High earners could be at risk of losing a quarter of a million pounds in pension tax relief through failing to reclaim by the self-assessment tax return deadline. Brit ensnared in the £100,000 tax trap could see thousands of pounds slipping out of their grasp, as well as valuable free childcare support, according to wealth [...]
Inflation expected to inch back up due to travel rush January 19, 2026 Inflation is expected to edge back up as higher airfares and tobacco prices are squeezing British families’ budgets and adding to pressures on the cost of living. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted consumer price index (CPI) inflation to hit 3.3 per cent rate for the year to December, which would be higher than [...]
Farage to ‘have some words’ with Trump over ‘hurtful’ UK trade threats January 19, 2026 Nigel Farage has attacked President Trump for his tariff threats against the UK, adding that he would be “having some words” with US administration officials during meetings in Davos on Wednesday. In a statement the Reform UK leader said threats against the UK were “not the kind of thing we would expect”. It is the [...]
U-turn on ID cards reveals a deeper flaw in Starmer’s Labour January 19, 2026 With his latest U-turn, Keir Starmer has taken a controversial policy which nonetheless had a substantial support base and made it deeply unpopular. It’s of a piece with his whole approach to government, says Eliot Wilson Last week the government announced – or perhaps admitted? – that the digital ID unveiled last year will not [...]
US tariffs war could ‘trigger UK recession’ January 19, 2026 President Trump’s latest tariff package could plunge the UK economy into a recession, top economists have warned, upping the stakes for Keir Starmer as he responds to threats against Greenland. The US president warned leading European nations, including the UK, he would slap additional 10 per cent tariffs on goods imports if a deal for [...]
Starmer calls for ‘calm’ as US tariff war flares up January 19, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer urged US and EU allies to engage in “calm discussion” in order to stave off a tariff war while re-iterating the UK’s commitment to upholding Greenland’s sovereignty. President Trump stunned allies by threatening to impose additional 10 per cent tariffs on UK imports from next month due to opposition to his plans [...]