Infrastructure could be rare success story for Labour September 23, 2025 The decision to allow a second runway at Gatwick is entirely sensible and most welcome. As the Chancellor said yesterday on her visit to the airport, the development “will mean that people going on holiday will have a greater choice of destinations [and] it will mean lower costs for a family holiday.” More importantly, she [...]
Autumn tax hikes would lead to inflation over five per cent ‘well into next year’ September 23, 2025 Food inflation will rise and remain above five per cent well into 2026 if the retail industry is hit by further tax rises at the Autumn Budget, a leading lobby group has warned. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that the government risks ‘losing the battle’ against inflation if business rates on large shops rise [...]
Oxford Street one-day traffic ban is start of ‘fight to rescue street’, mayor says September 21, 2025 The mayor of London has said a one-day trial banning traffic from part of Oxford Street marks “the day the fight back began to rescue this street”. Sir Sadiq Khan visited the street, where vehicles were prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of the road from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street between noon and 8pm [...]
The “Living Bridge”: Cultivating a new golden era in UK-India relations September 18, 2025 The India Business Group (IBG), an independent strategic advisory company, was established in 2014 by Amarjit Singh to foster the special relationship between India and the UK. The founder and CEO of the India Business Group is a commercial solicitor by background and set up the organisation after observing a palpable interest from UK small [...]
Knives are out in Whitehall after Chinese espionage case collapsed September 17, 2025 Whitehall is seething with anger following the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision to drop its espionage case against two men accused of spying for China. Christopher Cash (30), a former parliamentary researcher and director of the China Research Group, and Christopher Berry (33), a former English teacher in China, were charged last year with providing [...]
Hawks vs Doves: Bank of England’s MPC will hold interest rates – but expect dissent September 17, 2025 In the last year, the Bank of England has cut interest rates five times on the expectation that price rises were easing in the UK. When inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent in October 2022, policymakers at the Bank warned that its fight to battle inflation was “sacrosanct”. The relentless spiralling of [...]
Meet the team ‘churning out’ authentic Vietnamese food in the Square Mile September 17, 2025 We speak to the finalists for our first ever Toast the City Awards, celebrating the very best of the Square Mile’s culture. Banh Mi Keu Deli City’s Vietnamese food is nominated twice – so it must be great! Why do you deserve to win a coveted Slice of Toast?For almost 30 years, we have been [...]
Asda-owned Leon cuts hundreds of jobs as work from home trend bites September 17, 2025 Leon has axed hundreds of jobs as it bemoaned a “challenging” year in which it wrestled with high cost inflation and depressed customer spending. The Asda-owned fast-food chain cut its headcount by 17 per cent, or 224, to 1,120 over the course of 2024, its latest accounts show, as it sought to bear down on [...]
OBR ‘downgrades productivity’ in major pre-Budget blow to Rachel Reeves September 16, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly told Chancellor Rachel Reeves that it will downgrade productivity forecasts for the UK economy, blowing a hole in the public finances and making tax hikes all but guaranteed at this year’s November Budget. In another setback for the Labour government, the OBR has informed the Treasury that [...]
Rachel Reeves hosts Scott Bessent and finance execs for investment talks September 16, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves hosted US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and top dogs from most of the world’s biggest finance firms in a warm-up event ahead of President Donald Trump’s UK arrival on Tuesday evening. City firms including Barclays, HSBC and Revolut sent representatives to Downing Street, where they were joined by bosses from top Wall [...]