Fiscal drag to the rescue – but Healey still faces £35bn inflation headache October 12, 2026 Soaring inflation could force the Chancellor to commit to more government spending and tax hikes, posing a worse Budget headache than a narrowing fiscal headroom, a top think tank has warned. John Healey might have to top up department budgets by as much as £35bn by the end of the decade to stop the real-terms [...]
Retail bosses ramp up pressure on Healey to cut ‘ridiculous’ tax burden October 11, 2026 The bosses of Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have piled further pressure on the government to slash the “ridiculous” tax burden facing high street firms. Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, called on Chancellor John Healey to “restore hope” within the retail industry by turning a corner from Labour’s last two budgets, which he [...]
Airtel Money listing shows London is still one of the best places to grow a company October 9, 2026 Airtel Money chief Ian Ferrao put it best: "when you look at all of the variables, London still comes out top”, writes Lucy Rigby.
City chiefs warn Healey bank tax hike could drive businesses out of UK October 9, 2026 Top finance industry chiefs have warned the Chancellor that hiking taxes on the banking sector in the forthcoming Budget could drive businesses and capital out of the UK. Bosses of the City’s biggest industry bodies – including UK Finance, TheCityUK and the CBI – have written to John Healey calling for him to avoid raising [...]
Burnham to clamp down on ‘unfair’ non-compete clauses October 9, 2026 Andy Burnham is expected to launch a crackdown on lengthy notice periods and non-compete clauses in employment contracts in a bid to free up the jobs market for highly skilled workers. In a speech later today, the Prime Minister will announce plans to tackle a proliferation of strict employment conditions, which force staff to give [...]
Is VW’s ID. Tiguan the EV the ID.4 should have been? October 9, 2026 Volkswagen is retiring the ID.4 and putting its best-selling SUV name on the replacement. Early prototype drives suggest it’s quieter and comfier, but the charging hasn’t moved on as much as it should have. Volkswagen’s ID naming never quite stuck with buyers, and the company seems to have admitted as much. The ID.2 became the [...]
Retailers suffer ‘sharp decline’ in footfall October 9, 2026 Retail footfall took a dive in September as shoppers stayed away from shopping centres, prompting calls for the Chancellor to slash taxes for high street firms. In September, the UK’s total retail footfall fell by 2.9 per cent, far worse than the 1.7 per cent decline recorded in the month prior, according to the British [...]
Bailey: Governments must help control inflation too October 8, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said that governments should look to help keep prices stable and win over markets with disinflationary tax and spending measures. In an intervention on the relationship between monetary and fiscal policy, Bailey urged governments to consider the impacts of government spending and borrowing on inflation. The Bank of [...]
Smartsheet Named a Leader for Fourth Consecutive Year in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Collaborative Work Management October 8, 2026 Recognized for its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision, Smartsheet embeds governed AI directly into everyday workflows, delivering enterprise-level control and context at scale
Minister denies Labour’s tax hikes behind youth unemployment October 8, 2026 The Labour government’s £25bn hike in taxes paid by employers is not the main driver behind rising youth unemployment, a government minister told City AM. Baroness Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said that changes in NICs and minimum wages have not been the main drivers behind a rise in unemployment rates for people under the [...]