Starmer thanks business for shouldering tax burden June 26, 2025 Keir Starmer has thanked the British business community for bearing the brunt of his government’s tax raid in last year’s Budget, acknowledging he had asked a lot of UK plc since entering office. Addressing the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) annual conference, the Prime Minister said the £23bn hike to employer national insurance contributions (NICS) [...]
The Ivy: Jobs continue to be cut as Richard Caring nears £1bn sale June 26, 2025 Jobs have continued to be lost at the group behind restaurant chain The Ivy as billionaire owner Richard Caring edges closer to a £1bn sale. Troia (UK) Restaurants cut more than 100 roles during its latest financial year as its pre-tax profit also declined despite a rise in revenue, new accounts filed with Companies House [...]
A poor country acting like a rich one June 26, 2025 Britain is not a rich country. We may act like we are, we may even sometimes look and sound like we are, but the numbers don’t lie. When looking at GDP per capita we are decidedly middle of the pack by European standards and embarrassingly far behind America. The per head figure in the UK [...]
Living standards warning: ‘the decade looks bleak’ June 26, 2025 British families will not see their income grow in the next five years while pensioners will be £1,500 better off, economic researchers have projected in a “bleak” analysis that cast a shadow over government plans to boost households’ budgets. Chancellor Reeves claimed at this year’s Spring Statement that Britons would be £500 better off each [...]
Chess-playing Reeves is in a political zugzwang over welfare June 26, 2025 A looming rebellion on welfare reforms is casting doubt on Rachel Reeves’ ability to meet her fiscal rules, says Helen Thomas As we approach the first anniversary of the first Labour government in 14 years, we also approach its first significant rebellion. According to the analysis of our team at BlondeMoney, next week’s vote on [...]
Retail is now the most distressed sector in Europe June 26, 2025 Distress in the retail and consumer goods sector has reached its highest level since the financial crisis as geopolitical and economic volatility continue to erode businesses. The downturn has been driven by a combination of high interest rates, cost inflation and low consumer demand, with the latter a particular strain on UK businesses, according to [...]
Have we crossed the AI event horizon? June 26, 2025 Despite Sam Altman’s claims that we’ve crossed the AI “event horizon,” the reality is that today’s models remain far behind human intelligence in scale, flexibility, efficiency and learning, says Lewis Liu Sam Altman is currently peddling the “gentle singularity“, claiming we are already “past the event horizon” for AI – at the point where the [...]
Bella Italia owner slashes losses after shedding 700 jobs June 25, 2025 Losses at the owner of Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Frankie & Benny’s have been slashed after shedding 700 jobs during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The Big Table cut its headcount from 4,236 to 3,531 in the 12 months to 27 October, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. Over [...]
Halfords to shut garages amid growing cost pressures June 25, 2025 Halfords is set to close some of its garages this year as it struggles with increased labour costs introduced by last year’s Autumn Budget. Shares fell nearly two per cent in early trades. The cycling and motoring specialist said the sites earmarked for disposal are not able to provide the “level of customer experience to [...]
Net zero levy cuts are just tinkering at the edges June 25, 2025 The Industrial Strategy contains bold ambitions for cutting energy prices. Yet, for all the glossy presentation, the underlying thinking remains the same: a conviction that Whitehall can shape markets more effectively than the market itself, says Emmanuel Igwe We have learned through history that real progress emerges not from the bureaucratic designs of government but [...]