State pension boost raises questions on tax and triple lock future September 16, 2025 While pensioners may be cheering a proposed 4.7 per cent rise in the state pension, there are lingering questions over the sustainability of such increases and the viability of the triple lock itself. The proposed uplift means that payments to retirees are on track to rise by more than £560, bringing the new full state [...]
State pension to rise by £560 in extra costs to Treasury September 16, 2025 The state pension is set to rise by more than £560 from April as wage growth figures used to calculate the increase will make the elderly the “big winner” from today’s economic data in another extra cost to Rachel Reeves. The triple lock uprating policy, which was introduced 15 years ago, means the pension increases [...]
University funding crisis spreads to wider economy September 16, 2025 UK universities are facing mounting funding crisis that is affecting the country’s wider economy – with regions like Wales and the North East more at risk. According to new analysis from Oxford Economics, universities added £80bn in gross value added (GVA) to the economy and supported 1.2m jobs in 2024, including staff directly employed by [...]
Firms continue to shed workers as jobs market deteriorates September 16, 2025 The collapse of the UK jobs market has deepened, according to official data, undermining the Labour government’s goal to boost employment. Firms continued to shed workers as the number of payrolled employees dropped by 6,000 in July, adding to a collapse of 142,000 over the year. Provisional estimates suggest there was a fall of 8,000 [...]
City AM Shadow MPC votes 8-1 to HOLD interest rates September 16, 2025 Leading economists from academia and the City have voted 8-1 for interest rates to be held at four per cent in City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) ahead of the Bank of England’s own decision this week. Top analysts, who expressed views independently of their organisations, have said that stubborn inflation above the Bank [...]
Can Peter Kyle deliver a Budget lifeline for UK’s SMEs? September 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver her Autumn Budget on 26 November, nearly a month later than usual, and eyes are on what she will do for the SMEs. With borrowing costs hitting their highest levels since 1998, and servicing the national debt topping £100bn a year, the government has been urged to maintain fiscal [...]
Britain faces ‘looming’ crisis without spending cut, says Mel Stride-backed report September 15, 2025 Britain faces a looming fiscal crisis without reigning in spending and boosting the competitiveness of the City, according to a new report. With annual per capita growth stagnating and public spending ballooning, the government needs to bring growth back to the economy and boost living standards, according to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) report [...]
Food inflation to spike as suppliers can ‘no longer absorb’ costs, FDF warns September 15, 2025 Food and drink inflation could climb to 5.7% by the end of the year thanks to cost pressures on manufacturers “trickling down” to supermarket shelves, a leading industry body has warned. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said current prices were “steeper than anything in recent decades”. The group – whose members make a quarter [...]
Bank of England predicted to not cut interest rate until 2026 September 12, 2025 Interest rate cuts are unlikely to take place this year, according to some of the most dovish forecasters, with City analysts split on where they will settle given the UK’s battle against high inflation and low growth. The Bank of England is set to hold its next monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting next week, a [...]
Barclays boss: UK banks are taxed too much September 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Barclays’ chief executive has called on the government to curb pay rises for public sector workers and to avoid increasing taxes on banks. Speaking to the Financial Times, CS Venkatakrishnan said “we need to find a way to curb wage inflation,” and emphasised the need to curb expenditure at the [...]