Tax, tax and more tax. Does Rachel Reeves not know there’s another way? July 9, 2025 Wealth taxes, pension raids, inheritance tax, does Labour really not know there's another option, asks John O'Connell.
Rachel Reeves warned against piling on small business tax pain July 8, 2025 As Rachel Reeves circles new avenues to boost tax receipts, the Chancellor has faced a fresh warning to ease the pain for small businesses. Businesses have called for Reeves to reverse her Autumn Budget tax hikes and ease the burden for firms as they suffer the crunch of economic uncertainty. One in five small- and [...]
M&S shares sink lower after failing to recover from cyber attack July 8, 2025 Shares in FTSE 100 giant M&S are now lower than they were at the height of the cyber attack that hit the British icon earlier this year. The retailer’s shares are currently changing hands for 337p, after declining steadily from their 374p price on 16 June. That price was itself a recovery from the low [...]
Charities ‘penalised’ by Rachel Reeves’ taxes July 8, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hike to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) has “penalised” staff at charities up and down the UK, a new study has suggested. Rachel Reeves has reportedly suggested the £20bn tax raid on mid-sized firms was “low hanging fruit” to provide extra funding for the NHS and schools. But the collateral damage from [...]
Brits pour scorn on Labour after week from hell July 7, 2025 Brits have delivered a withering verdict on Labour after a week in which the anniversary of their election victory was marred by shambolic u-turns and infighting. Following the dramatic events of last week, voters’ disapproval of the government appears to have intensified with a growing number of Brits opposing the government’s high-tax-high-spending policies, according to [...]
A day with London’s exclusive Auto Vivendi supercar club July 7, 2025 We crawl through Cricklewood, battle through Brent Cross, then cruise sedately up the A1 (M). Finally, we take the exit, the traffic ebbs away and the road opens up ahead: a ribbon of empty tarmac between open fields. My overwhelming urge is to click the left paddle down a couple of gears, flatten my right [...]
Starmer’s biggest barrier to growth is the Labour party July 7, 2025 A year into Labour rule, the UK economy shows resilience despite government missteps, but Starmer’s statist instincts and fiscal misfires risk stalling the very growth he promises to deliver, says Eliot Wilson Sir Keir Starmer has little in common with Liz Truss, but the two Prime Ministers agreed on one issue: the UK will only [...]
Hiring confidence worst in 13 years as businesses brace for further tax hikes July 7, 2025 Appetite for hiring among employers has fallen to lows not seen since 2012, as bosses bring up the drawbridge following bruising hikes to business rates and more tax rises looming at the next Budget. Research from the BDO Business Trends barometer found that firms are “holding back recruitment” despite indications of a summer recovery. Employment [...]
State pension could face insolvency by 2036 despite tax hikes July 6, 2025 Britain’s state pension could become financially unsustainable as early as 2036, despite recent increases in National Insurance contributions, according to new modelling by the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). The think tank warned the Treasury is on course to spend more on welfare payouts than it receives in National Insurance receipts within just over a decade. [...]
Hospitality jobs slump as Reeves’ National Insurance hike bites July 6, 2025 The UK hospitality industry has shed 69,000 jobs since chancellor Rachel Reeves’s rise in employers’ national insurance contributions took effect – a stark reversal from the 18,000 roles created in the same period last year under the previous government. The figures, sourced from the Office for National Statistics, or ONS, mark the steepest peacetime job [...]