Autumn Budget: Reeves splurges £12bn on welfare as two-child benefit cap ditched Economics The UK’s fiscal watchdog has forecast welfare spending to soar over the next few years after the Labour government ditched plans to reform the welfare state. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which accidentally published its report before the Budget, has said welfare spending will rise by £12bn in the fiscal year 2029-30, when compared [...]
Bodycare: Reeves creating ‘too much risk and uncertainty’ for us to expand Retail Bodycare has slowed down the pace of opening new stores across the UK as it blamed the government for creating “too much risk and uncertainty”. The Lancashire-headquartered retailer added that “the current climate of increased costs and legislation” is impacting its growth plans. Bodycare has also said that government policy on the winter fuel allowance [...]
Labour’s welfare U-turn spikes fears of tax hikes Economics The Labour government has confirmed its latest U-turn with a significant retreat on welfare reform dealing a crushing blow to Rachel Reeves’ waning fiscal headroom. The bill initially targeted restrictions on personal independence payments (PIP) and limited the sickness-related element of universal credit in a bid to shed £5bn from the welfare budget by 2030. Under [...]
Winter fuel payments: there is a better way to help with energy bills June 24, 2025 Instead of subsidising bills according to age, we should make sure no one is spending more than 10 per cent of their household income on keeping warm, says Eon CEO Chris Norbury Despite recent improvements, energy bills remain around 60 per cent higher than before the crisis, with typical households still paying £1,720 annually. At [...]
Winter fuel U-turn could lead to ‘unfair’ and ‘complex’ tax system June 9, 2025 Treasury calculations on savings made from a means-tested winter fuel payment for nine million pensioners may be significantly reduced due to a “new complexity in the tax system”, an economics think tank has warned. The government has claimed that £1.25bn budgeting for winter fuel payments represents a cost reduction of up to £450m compared to [...]
Winter fuel payments to return for 9m pensioners in £1.3bn Labour u-turn June 9, 2025 The winter fuel payment will be handed out to 9m pensioners whose income falls below £35,000 a year, the Treasury has revealed, in a £1.25bn blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ chances of keeping her £9.9bn headroom intact.
Week in Business: Will Starmer sack Rachel Reeves? May 23, 2025 Cracks are appearing in Labour's economic strategy - will Keir Starmer roll the dice and look for a new Chancellor to change course?
Budget 2024: Backbenchers and bus fares – the political traps to dodge? October 30, 2024 For any Chancellor, their first Budget is always going to be a major event. But for Rachel Reeves, taking to the despatch box today as Britain’s first female top finance minister, she will – one way or another – be making history. The details laid out in Labour’s first Budget after 14 years in opposition [...]
Fuel allowance furore has made life terribly tricky for the Treasury September 26, 2024 Decision making in the Treasury is an unenviable task, and the winter fuel payments row just made it harder, writes James Nation.
Unions vote to condemn government’s winter fuel payments cuts September 25, 2024 Unions have voted to condemn the government’s decision to means test pensioners’ winter fuel payments, in a blow to No10 as the Labour conference came to a close. A non-binding motion brought by Unite and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) was backed by delegates in a vote on Wednesday morning in the main hall in [...]