Unemployment nightmare is entirely Labour’s fault December 4, 2025 Rising unemployment is a double evil; it both reveals problems in the economy and exacerbates them. Unemployment has risen every month since Labour returned to power, and the number of people out of work will soon hit levels last seen during the pandemic. Last month, the rate of job losses was at its fastest for [...]
Zipcar UK to shut operations ahead of new London EV Congestion Charge December 1, 2025 Zipcar has reached the end of the road in the UK after its US owner pulled the plug on operations in the run up to the introduction of fresh London Congestion Charges for electric vehicles. The car hire business has begun a formal consultation with employees in the UK and will stop taking new bookings [...]
UK manufacturing edges into growth territory for first time in over a year December 1, 2025 UK manufacturing has edged into growth territory for the first time in over a year following months of struggle piling onto the sector. The S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI) hit a 14-month highof 50.2 in November, up from 49.7 in October. This placed the industry above the all-important 50 mark which indicates [...]
Banks to pay ombudsman more as Treasury crackdown costs £8m November 27, 2025 Banks will pay more to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the next year as the body strums up cash for its bill to meet the Treasury’s clampdown. Financial services will pay the FOS £86m in the 2026/27 financial year – an increase of £16m – under new proposals, which aim to beef up the Compulsory [...]
OBR accidentally publishes full Budget before Reeves speech November 26, 2025 The government will freeze income tax thresholds, implement a mansion tax and freeze fuel duty according to an unprecedented leak from the government’s fiscal watchdog that revealed its full scorecard for the Budget update before the Chancellor delivered her speech. The Office for Budget Responsibility released its full report on the government’s fiscal plans for [...]
Autumn Budget Live: Wealthy, landlords and pensions hit in £26bn tax raid November 26, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. In a shocking turn of events the UK fiscal watchdog has accidentally released the economic forecasts – intended to be published after the Budget – before the Chancellor even took to the despatch box. Rachel Reeves has raised taxes by £26bn in her second Budget, which follows on [...]
This isn’t a plan for business, it’s a Budget to save Reeves’ job November 26, 2025 Sacha Lord, a former advisor to mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, bitterly regrets calling Labour “the party of business and growth” On 13th of June last year, I was stood in Manchester’s impressive NOMA building. It was the Labour Party’s manifesto launch. The place was a buzz with energy, excitement and hope. The full shadow [...]
Budget: Rachel Reeves told to make ‘simple fix’ to ‘badly outdated’ shares scheme November 24, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to make “simple fixes” in the Budget this week to hand hundreds of millions of pounds in tax incentives to small businesses. It was first reported last month that proposals had been drawn up to lift the cap on Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs). The scheme allows smaller businesses to [...]
Everything we know about Rachel Reeves’ Budget – from mansions to milkshakes November 24, 2025 In the run-up to the mother of all Autumn Budgets to be delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week, tax rumours have run wild, infecting the minds of businesses and working Brits while adding to the sense of peril that a botched fiscal event could bring. Investors are running scared. Voters fear looming betrayal. Gamblers [...]
Reeves accused of ‘fiscal fandango’ amid OBR forecast changes November 23, 2025 The Bank of England’s former chief economist Andy Haldane has accused Rachel Reeves of overseeing “fiscal fandango” in the lead-up to the Budget amid months of speculation around expected tax rises. Speaking to the BBC, Haldane blasted months of speculation around the Budget that had caused “paralysis” in the UK economy. His comments came days [...]