Retail sales falter as Budget tensions kick in October 27, 2025 Retail sales are set to decline at a faster pace in the weeks leading up to the November Budget, a new survey has indicated, as Brits hold out for extra taxes and higher prices. A Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey has suggested that retail sales could collapse in November, reflecting household fears about being [...]
Supermarkets call on Chancellor to ‘bring inflation to heel’ October 27, 2025 Britain’s largest supermarkets have called on Rachel Reeves to exclude all shops from upcoming changes to to business rates, warning that any hikes to their input costs would further stoke food inflation that is already at over double the Bank of England’s target. In an open letter to the Chancellor, bosses from the UK’s nine [...]
Brits prep for an expensive Christmas at the grocers October 23, 2025 Brits are prepping for high grocery spending this Christmas as food inflation continues to dominate daily concerns, according to new data. Consumers’ expectations over the next three months of their personal finances worsened to -11 in October, down from -7 in September, according to the British Retail Consortium. The corresponding metric, personal spending on retail, rose nine [...]
Britain’s inflation problem isn’t global – it’s made in the Treasury October 22, 2025 Reeves can’t keep blaming the last government or global headwinds for doubling inflation – it’s a result of her own policies, says Gareth Davies When the Conservatives left office in 2024, Britain was emerging from an incredibly challenging chapter in our history. Together we navigated the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, subsequent supply-chain shocks and [...]
UK SMEs brace for inflation strain as confidence slips October 22, 2025 Small business (SME) optimism is faltering as sticky inflation, labour shortages and rising borrowing costs pile pressure on firms already stretched by thin margins and political uncertainty. Small business confidence dipped in September, with recent Opinium polling suggesting that UK entrepreneurs are increasingly uneasy about the months ahead. The latest figures from the National Federation [...]
Inflation stays hot as UK’s economic woes deepen October 22, 2025 Inflation in the year to September remained sticky, new figures have shown, in further evidence that the UK’s economic woes have deepened and hit Brits harder than those in other countries. September was the third consecutive month that inflation hit 3.8 per cent, nearly double the Bank of England’s two per cent target. It came [...]
The top one per cent account for a third of tax revenue October 21, 2025 The top one per cent of taxpayers account for around a third of all income tax and capital gains tax paid in 2023-24, it has been revealed. According to HMRC, the top 500,000 taxpayers contributed £93.8bn last year, which represented 33 per cent of the total raised. The top 100,000 paid £54.9bn and covered a [...]
Inflation set to hit double Bank of England’s target October 20, 2025 The UK’s isolated struggles with price growth are set to hit a new milestone on Wednesday as consumer price index (CPI) inflation will surge to double the Bank of England’s target rate. In more troubling news for the Treasury and the Bank’s interest rate-setters, inflation is forecast to hit four per cent in the year [...]
Bank of England should cut interest rates at ‘more cautious pace’, Huw Pill urges October 17, 2025 The Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has renewed calls for interest rates to be cut at a “more cautious pace” in the next year, adding to the likelihood that Bank Rate may be held at four per cent for the foreseeable future. In a speech delivered on Friday, Pill said efforts to lower [...]
Cautious Brits plan to cut spending ahead of Golden Quarter October 17, 2025 Nearly three quarters of Brits plan to cut spending for the rest of 2025 as consumers continue to prioritise saving over splashing out. While consumer sentiment has remained flat at -5 over summer, inflation worries have been rising and nearly nine in ten Brits now report concerns, according to the latest Consumer Sentiment Survey from [...]