The Bank of England’s trouble-free decision to cut interest rates August 6, 2025 The Bank of England has long suffered from the accusation of groupthink. Reforms have been mooted – and some have been implemented – but it has struggled to shake off the charge. Economists at the Cato Institute and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) have, for example, pointed the blame at Threadneedle [...]
Unilever: Ice cream success boosts sales but profit drops July 31, 2025 Unilever has announced a drop in profit amid expensive disposals and unfavourable currency moves. Turnover at the FTSE100 firm, which owns brands like Dove, Colman’s and Persil, was €30.1bn, down 3.2 per cent year on year. Sales rose 3.4 per cent in the first half of the year, helped by a strong performance in Unilever’s [...]
It’s not the rich who fill the gaps when non-doms leave Britain – it’s you July 30, 2025 16,000 high-net-worth individuals are set to leave Britain this year, taking with them jobs, investment and growth. Here’s how we win them back… We talk a lot about wealth in Britain. We just don’t talk enough about what happens when it walks out the door. Because it’s happening. And faster than anyone wants to admit. [...]
You can’t fix homelessness without building homes July 29, 2025 Housing First pilot schemes across Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham have proven to work, taking 1,000 people off the streets. Now the government must roll it out nationwide, says Steve Morgan As far as housing is concerned, I didn’t have the easiest start in life. Growing up I lived in nine different houses before the age [...]
London must prepare for new climate extremes July 29, 2025 Floods, extreme temperatures, wildfires… the new London Plan must not treat planning for freak weather as an optional extra, says Emma Howard Boyd London and New York are officially the world’s most globally connected cities. Not only are both classed as ‘supercities’ but they are also the world’s only combined financial, commercial and cultural superhubs, [...]
Historic Blackpool pier sale spells more trouble for seaside town July 22, 2025 One of the oldest piers in the UK has been put up for sale in a latest blow to Blackpool’s tourism industry. The Blackpool Pier Company has said it’s made the decision to offload the North Pier in the seaside town “with a heavy heart”. The North Pier is the sixth-oldest of its type still [...]
What WeTransfer’s terms of service backtrack tells us about AI, data, and digital trust July 19, 2025 Earlier this week, Dutch file-sharing platform WeTransfer found itself in the crosshairs of an increasingly familiar story: AI ambition colliding with user trust. A subtle but potent tweak to its ‘terms of service’ – a clause suggesting user files might be used to “improve performance of machine learning models” -triggered feelings of unease through its [...]
Sticky inflation takes shine off Reeves’ week July 17, 2025 If the Chancellor was hoping to bask in the glow of supportive front-page coverage the morning after her Mansion House speech, she would have been disappointed. The spectacular revelations of Whitehall’s hushed-up cock-up over Afghan refugees knocked her off the top of the news agenda pretty much across the board. Only City AM gave her [...]
The British state has become a Ponzi scheme paid for by the young July 16, 2025 Flatlining wages, soaring house prices and high childcare costs have broken the social contract: the unspoken understanding that if you worked hard and did the right thing, Britain would reward you, say Simon Clarke and Phoebe Arslanagic-Little Last week, the OBR set out the sheer, mind-blowing extent of Britain’s fiscal risks. Foremost among them is [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes are driving wealthy overseas investors to flee London July 14, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes have had the “feared impact” of driving wealthy overseas investors to flee London to escape double taxation of their worldwide income, the company behind The Shard has said. Real Estate Management (UK), which is ultimately owned by the State of Qatar, has revealed the exodus has resulted in it being [...]