What will Rachel Reeves’ budget pay for and where will the money come from? October 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ November budget is fast approaching, and steep tax rises are once again on the cards. Speaking at Labour conference last month, the Chancellor hinted at tax hikes by warning that she will be forced into “harder choices” by “harsh global headwinds”. To balance the books in accordance with her much-discussed fiscal rules, Reeves [...]
Is it too late for Kemi to turn the Tories around? October 9, 2025 Conservative Party Conference proved the Tories are doing some proper thinking on the policies Britain needs, but is Reform’s poll lead already unassailable? Ask William Atkinson Why go to Conservative Party conference? After five days in Manchester, that question feels rather existential. I’ve only attended professionally. Despite having been a member since I was 15 [...]
China spying scandal: What the hell is going on? October 9, 2025 The head of MI5 warns that Chinese spying in the UK is taking place on “an epic scale” – yet the government can’t bring itself to describe China as a threat. What the hell is going on? Sir Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, doesn’t make many speeches in public. As one of Britain’s [...]
UK pension provider looks to launch defined benefit superfund October 9, 2025 British pensions provider, TPT retirement solutions, is seeking to launch a defined benefit (DB) superfund, that will hold schemes rather than sell them to an insurance company. TPT, a mid-sized provider which manages £11.1bn of pension assets, has secured capital to fund the launch of the DB superfund and the first £1bn of transactions, in [...]
Labour ministers ordered to stop relying on emergency funds October 9, 2025 Labour ministers have been told they will be blocked from using the government’s reserve funds to pay public sector staff and will only be given cash in exceptional circumstances. James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has told colleagues across the Cabinet that access to rainy day funds will be limited as the government [...]
Keir Starmer vows to cut red tape for pubs to ‘bring the buzz back’ to high streets October 9, 2025 Keir Starmer has vowed to cut red tape for pubs in a bid to revitalise the ailing hospitality industry following a spate of venue closures. The prime minister has unveiled a four-week “blitz” survey of landlords, customers and neighbours, in a review expected to result in a bonfire of old licensing rules, amid fears some [...]
Anthropic: UK staff get eye-watering sums at AI giant October 9, 2025 US AI giant Anthropic is paying its UK staff eye-watering financial packages as it attempts to build a foothold in this country. The business, which only launched in the UK at the start of 2023, increased its headcount from six to 43 in 2024 while its staff costs rocketed from £3.6m to £24m. Its wage [...]
Labour’s unemployment benefit reforms could ‘save £3bn a year’ October 9, 2025 A government proposal to replace the unemployment benefits system with an “unemployment insurance” benefit could save the government up to £3bn a year despite being higher than the current new style jobseeker’s allowance payment, a new report has indicated. Labour officials are mulling over plans to cut the welfare bill to reduce the size of [...]
The Capitalist: Tories disco through decline, trouble at Harper Collins and Mishcon’s ‘party from hell’ October 9, 2025 Tory Conference, chaos at Harper Collins and Mishcon de Reya's "party from hell"; catch up on the latest gossip in this week's The Capitalist.
Don’t believe Starmer’s spin on skills October 9, 2025 Keir Starmer has abandoned the target of sending 50 per cent of young people to university, but he risks extending the worst failings of universities into further education, says Iain Mansfield Last week, to great fanfare, Keir Starmer tore up Tony Blair’s target of sending 50 per cent of young people to university. He is [...]