Spending review: Rachel Reeves pledges £15.6bn for regional transport June 4, 2025 The government has made its biggest spending announcement since Labour’s drubbing at the local elections in May, with a pledge from Chancellor Rachel Reeves to double investment in local transport over the next five years. A £15.6bn cash injection will form a major pillar of the 11 June spending review, which the Treasury says would [...]
US trade deal: Jonathan Reynolds questioned on Trump talks progress June 3, 2025 Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has raised questions around the progress of the UK-US trade deal, saying that the agreement has “not been signed, published and presented in any form”. In a letter posted on X, the former Treasury minister said that “no one has ever seen such a deal” and criticised Labour for a [...]
Environment secretary says Thames Water has ‘a number’ of options June 3, 2025 Environment secretary Steve Reed told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that there are “a number” of potential investors for Thames Water, just minutes after news broke that US private equity firm KKR had dropped out of a last ditch effort to save the embattled water giant. Reed had already been booked to appear for a ‘Call the [...]
Starmer’s defence spending will mean ‘chunky’ tax rises, warns IFS June 2, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to boost defence spending will require “chunky” tax rises, according to the chief of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Paul Johnson told Times Radio: “…if we’re really going to spend another £10-15 billion a year on defence, whilst inevitably we’re going to spend more and more on health and pensions [...]
Andy Haldane: Reeves ‘not even close’ on growth after ‘rookie errors’ June 2, 2025 The Bank of England’s former Chief Economist has slammed Rachel Reeves’ first near-full year as Chancellor as “disappointing”, with the government “not even close to doing enough” on growth. Less than two weeks out from the 11 June spending review, Andy Haldane told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that there have been “mistakes, rookie errors” that have [...]
Trump tariffs: Legal twist as court rules in favour of trade levies May 30, 2025 President Trump can legally keep his tariffs in place for the moment, a federal appeals court has ruled – just a day after his trade policies were “declared to be invalid” by a US court. The fresh ruling comes just over a day after the lesser known US Court of International Trade found that tariffs [...]
Labour tax hikes drive steepest fall in retail sentiment since Covid May 27, 2025 British retailers’ confidence has made the steepest dive in five years, after facing pressures from Rachel Reeves’ £26bn employer tax raid and uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s trade war. The drop is the most severe since the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the UK high street, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Grim sentiment in [...]
UK is officially the work from home capital of Europe May 27, 2025 Brits work from home more than any other country in Europe, in an indication that corporate return-to-office campaigns have not yet ushered workers back into the office en masse. UK white-collar employees average 1.8 days a week WFH, compared to a global tally of 1.3 days, according to new research by King’s College London (KCL). [...]
Markets slump as Trump vows 50 per cent tariffs on the EU May 23, 2025 President Trump has announced he is “recommending” 50 per cent tariffs be imposed on all European Union (EU) imports into the US, sending markets in Europe and the UK into the red. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that the new rate of trade levies would kick in on 1 June. [...]
AJ Bell shares surge as investors give £3.3bn boost May 23, 2025 Shares in AJ Bell have leapt ten per cent after the London-listed firm posted a strong half year performance. The Salford-headquartered group’s assets under administration (AUA) have hit a new peak of £90.4bn, buoyed by investors injecting £3.3bn and the firm benefiting from £600m of favourable market movements. Revenue was up 17 per cent to [...]
