Healey launches £150m northern scale-up fund September 7, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is to pile £150m into start-ups in the North of England as part of the government’s bid to use devolution to drive economic growth. Healey will announce a new fund designed to back university spin outs and other start-ups in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. The Chancellor will announce the fund, [...]
Budget tax hikes would be ‘road to ruin,’ Healey warned September 6, 2026 A top business trade body has warned Chancellor John Healey that tax hikes at the October Budget would set the UK on the “road to ruin”. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has urged the Chancellor not to “pile more taxes on firms,” saying that the Treasury should instead cut the costs facing firms to [...]
Electra/Persona at the National Theatre review: A dull mash-up of Sophocles and Bergman September 4, 2026 Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss lead a visually striking but plodding Sophocles-Bergman mash-up at the National Theatre; read the review.
Iceland boss Richard Walker vows to set up shop on Falkland Islands September 4, 2026 The boss of Iceland has waded into the fresh row over the Falkland Islands, vowing to open a supermarket in the British territory. Lord Richard Walker, executive chairman of the retailer, wrote on LinkedIn: “We’ve been supporting the Great British high street for 50 years. “As we continue our international expansion programme, we are committed [...]
Gloomy outlook: Royal Parks charity bans ‘Optimism Picnic’ in Hyde Park September 4, 2026 The Royal Parks charity has insisted an ‘Optimism Picnic’ planned by the co-founder of the economic campaign group Looking For Growth cannot go ahead in Hyde Park. Now, the outlook for this picnic looks more pessimistic, on what is already set to be an overcast afternoon following a morning of intermittent heavy rain. The slapdown [...]
Prem Rugby needs a draft, but not one for the very best players September 4, 2026 Top flight domestic rugby is back this weekend in the form of the Prem Rugby Cup – the former Anglo-Welsh, British and Irish, and inter-Prem/Champ competition that is now just a little bit of a nothing league. But that’s for another day. Because the return of rugby in England feels underhyped. We’ve had an entire [...]
Greater fool theory helps to explain Premier League’s record £3.5bn transfer window September 3, 2026 The transfer window has left Ed Warner’s head in a spin and even the most devoted football nut must have struggled to keep up, he writes. The football transfer window closed on Tuesday night, with over £3bn splashed out by Premier League clubs for the second summer running. In the end, Everton didn’t sell their [...]
The Debate: Is university now a waste of money? September 3, 2026 As graduates struggle to find jobs, let alone those that are well paid, is university still worth the cost? We hear the case for and against.
Andrew Griffith: My FTSE 100 experience means I know how to balance the books September 3, 2026 Andrew Griffith’s fierce interest in politics long preceded his involvement in it. Aged 26, he appeared in the audience of a 1997 Question Time show, in which host David Dimbleby gave him the opportunity to speak to would-be PM Tony Blair. He didn’t hold back. “You may be the glossy smart marketing, but you haven’t [...]
Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs September 3, 2026 Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, has written to the Chancellor, urging him to unwind “soaring employment costs”. [...]