How to shield your pension from Labour’s inheritance tax raid May 6, 2025 According to new analysis by Quilter, just two per cent of estates subject to inheritance tax (IHT) are currently taking advantage of surplus income gifting to reduce their tax liabilities. Based on freedom of information (FOI) requests carried out by the wealth management firm, just 1,490 estates are currently taking advantage of the rules, but Quilter expects [...]
Starmer speaks to Australian counterpart after ‘historic election win’ May 4, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to Anthony Albanese after the Australian leader won a second term with his centre-left government. The Prime Minister congratulated Albanese on Sunday morning for his “historic election win” after he became the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in two decades. “Australia and the UK [...]
Donald Trump says he does not know if he backs due process rights May 4, 2025 Donald Trump has refused to affirm his intention to uphold due process rights laid out in the US constitution. In a new interview, the US president also said he does not think military force will be needed to make Canada the “51st state” of the US, and played down the possibility he would look to [...]
UK police arrest seven Iranians in counter-terrorism probes May 4, 2025 Counter-terrorism police have arrested eight men, seven of whom are Iranian nationals, in two separate investigations, the Metropolitan Police said on Sunday. On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals between the ages of 29 and 40, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offences over a plot to target a specific premises. The [...]
Israeli cabinet ministers to vote on whether to expand Gaza fighting May 4, 2025 Israeli cabinet ministers are meeting to vote on whether to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, as the army began to call up thousands of reserve soldiers, officials said. Plans to escalate fighting in Gaza more than 18 months after the war erupted come as a humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens. As part [...]
Bank of England set to cut interest rates as US tariffs in focus May 4, 2025 UK interest rates are set to be cut to 4.25 per cent as the Bank of England eases costs for borrowers while it digests the impact of US tariffs on the economy. Most economists are expecting rates to be reduced by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday. Sandra Horsfield, an economist for Investec, said it is [...]
Next set to reveal profit increases amidst tariff uncertainty May 3, 2025 Next is expected to post rising profits next week despite a string of costs increases hitting retailers and broader concerns about UK consumer confidence. The retail giant will reveal its first quarter results on May 8, hot on the heels of profits of more than £1bn last year. Next, which has more than 450 stores [...]
MP defends ‘human cost’ of assisted dying bill after impact assessment May 3, 2025 Assisted dying is about the “human cost” and not pounds and pence, the MP behind the proposed legislation has said after an assessment of the potential costs. An impact assessment into the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was published on Friday, exactly a fortnight ahead of the next Commons debate on the proposed [...]
Reform’s local election sweep puts Starmer and Badenoch in hot seat May 3, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch face pressure to reverse their parties’ fortunes after the local elections saw Reform UK make major gains across England. Nigel Farage hailed the results as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party” as Reform picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in [...]
Co-op issues apology after hackers get hands on members’ personal data May 3, 2025 The Co-op has apologised after hackers accessed and extracted members’ personal data such as names and contact details. The retail firm said on Friday it is experiencing “sustained malicious attempts” to access its systems, having already shut off parts of its IT systems earlier this week. It comes after fellow retailers Harrods and Marks & [...]
