Radical honesty on net zero is Badenoch at her best March 20, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has said that net zero by 2050 is impossible and she has the evidence to prove it. Now she needs to prove she has the energy to take on the reform Britain so badly needs, says James Price At last, I have seen the Kemi Badenoch that her supporters see. The leader of [...]
Bullish Gen Z bucks consumer confidence trend March 20, 2025 Gen Z’s plans to go big on spending in the next three months have contributed to a rise in consumer confidence, a new survey has suggested. Barclays last year predicted in November that people born between 1996 and 2010 would account for around 39 per cent of retail spending by 2030. Now a new survey [...]
London firms struggling to recruit staff as people want to WFH March 20, 2025 Firms in London are struggling to recruit staff as over four in five businesses have vacancies, according to a new survey of 1,000 companies. Mayor Sadiq Khan recently announced plans to boost economic growth in the capital, but the latest survey by BusinessLDN suggests he may have a mountain to climb before he achieves his [...]
More than half of Brits are ‘reliant on the state’, think tank says March 19, 2025 More than half of the UK population are reliant on the state for income, a leading think tank has said. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall on Tuesday announced a string of welfare reforms aimed at getting Brits back into the workforce. But the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has suggested that the number of those [...]
UK government backs Manchester United 100,000-seat stadium March 19, 2025 Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy has said the government is keen to “crack on” in supporting Manchester United’s plan to build a 100,000-seater stadium. Manchester United and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe unveiled plans for a “New Trafford” development adjacent to the Theatre of Dreams that would include a number of [...]
Great Britain to host Tour de France Grand Depart in 2027 March 19, 2025 The Tour de France will return to Britain for the first time since 2014 after England, Scotland and Wales won the bid to host the 2027 Grand Depart. The Tour will begin in Edinburgh, with culture secretary Lisa Nandy saying the move “will stimulate growth, attract new visitors and leave a lasting legacy for athletes [...]
PMQs: Starmer won’t repeat pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds March 19, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “plotting stealth taxes” after he failed to repeat Rachel Reeves’ pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds. The Prime Minister was pushed on his economic plans ahead of next week’s spring statement – which Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded an “emergency budget”. During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, [...]
Will Rachel Reeves hike taxes in her first Spring Statement? March 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to make her first Spring Statement next week, and rumours are starting to swirl that the tax hikes could be on the cards as she tries to get the government debt under control. Given the Chancellor’s commitment to just one major fiscal event a year the Spring Statement is intended [...]
Motor finance: Lloyds and Close Brothers shareholders await landmark hearing March 19, 2025 The eyes of shareholders at Britain’s biggest lenders will be on April’s landmark motor finance hearing, as the scandal heads to the Supreme Court. The hearing, scheduled for April 1-3, will allow car loan providers to challenge the October 2024 Court of Appeal ruling that it was unlawful for banks to pay a commission to [...]
Don’t ask business to ‘shoulder more burden’, CBI chief urges March 19, 2025 The government should not “ask businesses to shoulder any more of a burden”, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief has warned in the wake of the welfare cuts. Work and pensions secretary Lilz Kendall announced on Tuesday a raft of welfare measures she said will help bring more working age people back into jobs. [...]