Analysis: Why Reeves faces political pressure over the Spring Statement March 25, 2025 Over the next 24 hours, Rachel Reeves will be putting the finishing touches to Wednesday’s Spring Statement. It marks her second fiscal event as Chancellor, and – despite the promised manifesto commitment of “one major fiscal event a year” – the economic backdrop, and wider political pressure, makes it hard to see the contents of [...]
Arriva’s Chiltern Railways announced as first East West Rail operator March 25, 2025 Arriva Group’s Chiltern Railways has been selected to operate the first stage of the East West Rail project linking Oxford and Cambridge. The Department for Transport (DfT) said on Tuesday it expected services to start later this year, connecting Milton Keynes to Oxford for the first time in 60 years. East West Rail, a proposed [...]
Government approves Lower Thames Crossing March 25, 2025 Ministers have given the go-ahead to the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in UK history. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander approved the development consent order (DCO) for the scheme on Tuesday. It will be funded primarily by the private sector, according to the Financial Times, confirming speculation after [...]
UK tech eyes tax moves in Spring Statement March 25, 2025 The UK’s tech sector is awaiting Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, as businesses look for support from the government on AI investment, digitalised healthcare, and scam prevention. Industry heavyweights are urging the Chancellor to consider targeted tax incentives and upskilling initiatives. They have also called for stronger regulatory frameworks to support growth and innovation amid burgeoning [...]
‘Corporate purpose? It went too far’, says man behind Britain’s Davos March 25, 2025 John O’Brien founded Anthropy – an annual gathering of corporate and political luminaries dubbed ‘Britain’s Davos’ – to help the UK ‘build back better’ from the pandemic. On the eve of its third instalment in the Eden Project’s greenery, Ali Lyon asks the ex-army captain, “Has it failed?” It is October 2022, and a group [...]
Will rising costs kill off Savile Row’s renaissance? March 25, 2025 On a Wednesday morning earlier this month, there was plenty of activity on the shop floor at the Georgian townhouse that plays home to Richard James’ bespoke suit-making. One staff member is on the phone discussing colours and time frames, another getting a glass of water for a customer in the changing room, and smartly [...]
Reeves crosses her fingers and hopes for growth March 25, 2025 Ahead of last October’s Budget, ministers allowed months of speculation as to what would be unveiled, and the never-ending drumbeat of doom and gloom talked the economy to a standstill. Largely as a result of the contents and consequences of that Budget, economic growth has since evaporated and now all eyes are on this week’s [...]
Co-op invests further in lower prices as ‘trolley wars’ beckon March 25, 2025 Co-op Group has invested millions in lower prices as all the grocers gear up to battle for value-seeking customers. The business, which is owned by its 5.5 million members, will invest more than £70m into matching prices with Aldi on 100 everyday essentials for its members. The move will take the co-operative’s investment into lowering [...]
Reeves will have to get real and raise taxes March 25, 2025 Despite frantic denials, the debt burden means Rachel Reeves will soon have to revisit promises she made on tax in the care-free days of opposition, says Vince Cable The Chancellor has many competing priorities on Wednesday: a big rise in defence spending; keeping the NHS afloat; honouring promises not to raise taxes on income and [...]
Will a tax raid tomorrow prove too tempting for Reeves? March 25, 2025 Emergency Budgets are a bad idea, but with the economic changing fast Reeves may not have the luxury of waiting until Autumn to raise taxes, says Tim Sarson Last autumn, after a long, long summer of speculation and rumour, our newly installed Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered what she promised would be the [...]