Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK January 26, 2026 Former home secretary Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, the latest transfer from the Conservative benches to Nigel Farage’s party. Braverman, a former Tory leadership contender, had been a critic of policy positions held by the Tories. She was not a member of Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet. The total number of Reform MPs is [...]
Robert Jenrick was the last sign of life the Conservative party had January 19, 2026 In booting out her erstwhile rival, Badenoch may have won herself a day’s worth of positive headlines but has done deep damage to the Conservative Party. She has lost an effective media performer with a detailed policy brain and extensive government experience: exactly the sort of battle-hardened but repentant ex-minister Reform were crying out for, [...]
Khan urges Reeves to bring back tax-free shopping January 15, 2026 Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists to drive public revenue gains. Khan has lobbied the Treasury to re-introduce VAT-free shopping for visitors more than four years after the previous Conservative government scrapped the perk. Conservative City Hall member Thomas Turrell raised the issue of tourism [...]
Labour to unveil new Birmingham-Manchester rail link after HS2 fiasco January 13, 2026 Ministers are poised to unveil plans to build a new railway line running from Birmingham to Manchester as part of a major overhaul of rail infrastructure in the North – but it won’t break ground for roughly a decade. Rachel Reeves will reveal the heavily delayed shake-up of east-west railway lines across the north of [...]
Immigration law firm put up for sale on insolvency market amid visa crackdown January 13, 2026 A London law firm specialising in immigration services has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace in an early sign the government’s crackdown on visas has sparked a slump in applications. Woolwich-based A Vincent Solicitors, which employs more than two dozen staff and has a second office in Manchester, offered multi-lingual support services [...]
Labour can’t afford to stick with Starmer much longer January 12, 2026 When leaders lose control of events, they rarely recover it. The final blow is usually banal. It could be a ministerial resignation, a bacon sandwich style gaffe, or a symbolic vote defeat, but it is coming, says Helen Thomas A curious myth has taken hold at Westminster that Keir Starmer remains in post because removing [...]
Billionaire Hohn handed £60m dividend and ramps up philanthropy January 6, 2026 Hedge fund billionaire Sir Chris Hohn gave himself a £60m dividend in 2025 and cemented his reputation as one of the world’s most generous philanthropists, dishing out nearly £600m of his investment firm’s profit to good causes. Hohn’s TCI Fund Management was bolstered by the strong performance of its flagship funds, which carried turnover at [...]
David Cameron sounds alarm over British brain drain December 10, 2025 Former Prime Minister Lord David Cameron has expressed concern about the exodus of British entrepreneurs and talent, warning that the UK government needs to set aside ‘other goals’ and prioritise business growth. Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Lord Cameron acknowledged British talent leaving for places such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), stating: “I [...]
Government climate tsar picks up enough air miles for six trips around the world December 4, 2025 The government’s climate envoy has totted up more than 150,000 airmiles since she was appointed by Labour, in trips to conferences such as COP 30. That’s more than six times the circumference of the earth. Rachel Kyte reports directly to energy secretary Ed Miliband and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper. The role of climate envoy had [...]
Budget: Income tax thresholds frozen by Rachel Reeves November 26, 2025 Income tax thresholds will be frozen until the end of the decade, despite the Chancellor previously branding the tax trick as a “stealth tax” tantamount to “pickpocketing”from working people. According to the OBR’s unprecedented leak of Budget contents, the Chancellor chose to freeze the bands at which different rates of income tax are introduced for [...]