Only roaring growth can save Reeves, and the country June 11, 2025 The Chancellor had been speaking for about five minutes when it dawned on me that she wasn’t going to say anything interesting. By the time she got to discussing the finer points of Southport’s pier and Kirkcaldy’s high street, I’d moved on to other things. That’s not to say that the Spending Review wasn’t interesting, [...]
Spending Review: Khan slams lack of Met and infrastructure cash June 11, 2025 Sir Sadiq Khan has launched a scathing assessment of the Chancellor’s long-awaited Spending Review, warning it will strangle his ability to deliver new affordable homes and create jobs, and mean fewer police officers on the capital’s streets. In a statement released soon after Rachel Reeves concluded her speech, London’s newly-knighted mayor said he was “concerned” [...]
William Hill shortens odds on Pat McFadden replacing Rachel Reeves June 11, 2025 William Hill has slashed its odds on senior government minister Pat McFadden replacing Rachel Reeves as Chancellor – down from 5/1 to 2/1. McFadden is currently Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office – and is a close confidante of PM Sir Keir Starmer, playing a major [...]
Ball in Chancellor’s court as LTA waits on support for covered courts project June 10, 2025 While grass court season unfolds, Britain’s tennis chiefs at the LTA have another project on their hands: unlocking government funding to build the covered courts the country lacks. As the eyes of the tennis world turn towards London, hopes are understandably high for the home contingent at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. Jack Draper has broken [...]
Retail shrinks by over 360,000 jobs in a decade June 10, 2025 The number of retail jobs in the UK has shrunk by more than a tenth since 2015, according to new data. There were 2.76m jobs in retail in March 2025, 360,000 fewer than in 2015, according to the latest report by the ONS. The number of full-time jobs has fallen by 117,000 since 2015, while the number [...]
Isuzu D-Max V-Cross review: The tough truck with a soft side June 10, 2025 Isuzu had its best year to date for new vehicle sales in 2024, with more than 6,500 examples of the D-Max pickup finding homes in the UK. However, the Japanese marque could face a tougher challenge in future, thanks to changes to how double cab pickup trucks are treated by HMRC. The changes make double [...]
Government urged to add AI minister to every department June 10, 2025 The UK government has been urged to create an AI oversight body with ministerial posts dedicated to advanced technology, with former Tory leader William Hague calling on the “very structures of government” to be re-imagined in the coming years. A new Policy Exchange report calls on the government to create a new Office for Superintelligence [...]
Spending Review: Cuts to BBC put UK soft power at risk June 10, 2025 Spending review cuts to the BBC would erode the UK's soft power when it needs it most, writes Giles Kenningham.
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 [...]
The high-profile non-doms that have quit Britain since the Budget June 6, 2025 If the pleas of wealth advisers and tax lawyers are to be believed, since the Chancellor’s Autumn fiscal crackdown, non-doms have been leaving Britain in droves. We’ve listed the most high-profile departures since the Budget. Having made it almost exactly halfway through her maiden Budget, the UK’s first female Chancellor was beginning to find her [...]