Who still gets hired in the 2026 workplace? December 28, 2025 Britain’s labour market has probably never felt more precarious than it does now, as the struggling economy and the rapid rise of AI take effect. Redundancies are at their highest since the pandemic, unemployment has risen to 5.1 per cent, and entry-level opportunities, the traditional stepping stones for grads and young workers, have all but [...]
Starmer’s future hinges on May election reckoning, polling expert says December 27, 2025 The future of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership hinges on the forthcoming May elections where the Labour party is expected to take a bruising, a polling expert has said. Conservative peer Lord Robert Hayward said: “A few months ago it looked as if May 7 would be decisive for the leaderships of both Labour and Conservatives. [...]
I read 100 books in 2 years. Here’s what I learnt. December 24, 2025 As I write this, I am in the final days of the longest reading marathon of my life. In January last year, I set a challenge to read 52 books in as many weeks. Having (just) completed my goal, I set another to read 48 this year, to finish at 100 (journalists like round numbers). [...]
The great high street outage of 2025 December 24, 2025 On paper, British high streets have seen worse. Footfall has survived recessions, pandemics and price shocks before, and tills were just about still ringing. But this year it flickered, stalled and, in some cases, went dark – brought to its knees by a wave of cyber attacks that exposed the fragility of retail in the [...]
Regulators show their teeth – financial services fines in 2025 December 24, 2025 UK watchdogs sharpened their sword in 2025 and slapped a handful of financial services firms with hefty fines and a thorough dressing down. In just under a week alone in July, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of financial services giants. But it was [...]
Is it time to invest in Asia in 2026? December 23, 2025 Over the last few months, investors and portfolio managers have taken renewed interest in Asia amid fears of an AI crash, seeking to diversify away from the highly concentrated Nasdaq, home to the Magnificent Seven stocks. With a large number of analysts remaining bullish on AI’s prospects for the next financial year, citing the sector’s [...]
Tears, scandal, c*ck-ups and conspiracy: Westminster’s worst moments of 2025 December 23, 2025 Westminster never disappoints. When Keir Starmer came into Downing Street, he promised that politics would “tread more lightly” on the lives of everyday people. He was likely referring to the farce of Partygate, leadership battles and political blunders under successive Tory governments. But Labour have got caught up in less than pleasant situations of their [...]
The year in law: Scale, survival, and the surge of the transatlantic titans December 23, 2025 From the birth of new transatlantic titans to a government-led rescue of the litigation funding market, 2025 has seen the City’s legal landscape rewritten by a relentless pursuit of scale and a newfound reliance on the machine. The legal sector started the year with US President Donald Trump attacking the industry, as Trump vs Big [...]
All I want for Christmas is economic growth December 23, 2025 Keir Starmer has quietly abandoned his “five missions”, now he should dispense with all policies that are standing in the way of growth, starting with the Employment Rights Bill, says Joe Hill As we ring out 2025 and ring in 2026, it’s good to reflect on what we’re leaving behind as well as looking to [...]
Big Tech braces as Keir Starmer flirts with Australia-style social media ban December 22, 2025 According to reports, Keir Starmer is weighing up an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s, as ministers reassess how far the UK should go in regulating online platforms for kids. The prime minister has previously said he was “personally” opposed to a blanket ban, arguing that the focus should be on controlling content instead. [...]