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 [...]
Boots: Profit jumps after closing hundreds of stores June 5, 2025 Profit at Boots has surged as the high street pharmacy chain closed hundreds of stores during its latest financial year as its owners abandoned plans for an initial public offering (IPO). The Nottingham-headquartered business shuttered 334 locations in the year to the end of August 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed. Instead [...]
Zonal pricing proposals backed by peers June 5, 2025 Plans to introduce a “zonal pricing” regime to the UK’s electricity market have been backed by an influential group of Lords. A report from the Industry and Regulators Committee found regional pricing “should enable better use of existing grid capacity” and lower the cost of electricity, provided the transition and its risks are “managed well.” [...]
Grandparents are the missing piece in the fertility crisis June 5, 2025 An under-discussed aspect of the housing shortage is that it forces many young Londoners to move away from their parents, making it harder to raise children of their own, says Phoebe Arslanagic-Little My husband and I knew that our baby would be much loved by our parents, but we have both been surprised by the [...]
Happy Valley maker shut down by owner StudioCanal June 4, 2025 The maker of TV hits such as Happy Valley and It’s a Sin has been shut down by its owner, StudioCanal. Red Production Company, which is headquartered in Manchester, has closed with the loss of around ten jobs. Included in the departures was chief executive Patrick Schweitzer who left the business last week. Schweitzer had [...]
Phone Marking Sessions Helping Combat Mobile Theft June 4, 2025 Five City Business Improvement Districts and City Business Partnership have partnered with the City of London Police to run free phone marking events to help combat the increase in mobile phone theft. To make stolen phones traceable and strengthen the criminal case against thieves when arrested, these discreet and unique stickers help police to quickly [...]
Thames Water mess could soon swamp ministers – and taxpayers June 4, 2025 Water takes the path of least resistance, and so – on this occasion as least – does private equity. Apparently deterred by the increasingly hostile political and regulatory environment KKR, the US giant which secured ‘preferred bidder status’ for a takeover of Thames Water, pulled the plug on its £4bn investment over the weekend. They [...]