Services sector cuts jobs and hikes prices after Reeves’ tax raid Economics The UK’s services sector has turned to hiking prices and shedding workers in an effort to balance the books in the face of rising cost pressures from government policy. Businesses activity picked up for the tenth-consecutive month in February, according to the latest Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) from S&P, but came amid a “solid” amount [...]
The Debate: Was a ‘quiet’ Spring Statement what businesses needed? Opinion It was good for the Chancellor's blood pressure, but was it good for business? We hear the case for and against the "boring" Spring Statement.
Reeves’ Spring Statement gave us little to be cheery about Economics Rachel Reeves put on a brave face when she stood up at the dispatch box yesterday afternoon to unveil her Spring Statement. And although we were subjected to the usual staccato delivery, the Chancellor’s performance was more confident than usual. But a cursory glance at the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projections show there [...]
Why Rachel Reeves’ low-key Spring Statement still matters February 26, 2026 This is the Spring Statement that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has long been waiting for in opposition: a moment of sheer insignificance. In May 2023, six months after the mini-budget debacle, Reeves offered a speech in opposition to Washington DC’s top independent think tank, the Peterson Institute, exalting her core economics philosophy of ‘securonomics’. She summarised [...]
Reeves urged to cut bank tax as UK competitiveness lags February 25, 2026 Rachel Reeves is facing renewed calls to cut tax on the banking sector after new bombshell research laid bare the competitive disadvantage UK lenders are battling against. The Chancellor spared banks from a highly-anticipated fresh tax raid in the Autumn Budget but a new report – penned by the Association for Financial Markets (AFME) and [...]
Private sector axes more jobs amid Reeves’ tax and wage pressures February 20, 2026 The UK’s private sectors culled jobs for the seventeenth consecutive month in February led by a significant drop in the services sector as businesses were still digesting the impact of Labour’s 2024 Autumn Budget. The latest flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global described the rate of job shedding in February as at a [...]
Reeves lands £30bn reprieve ahead of Spring Statement February 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has secured a record-breaking borrowing reprieve in fresh data that comes ahead of the Chancellor delivering her Spring Statement in March. The Treasury has been handed a surplus of £30.4bn in January, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, after a surge in tax receipts. The figure is £15.9bn higher [...]
Rachel Reeves warned ‘dysfunctional’ fiscal rules are hammering economy February 19, 2026 Rachel Reeves has been dealt a scathing assessment of her economic policy by a top think tank, which likened her approach to a driver who was “watching the speedometer” while ignoring other conditions. The Chancellor is facing calls to scrap the self-imposed fiscal rules that prevent her from borrowing to pay for day-to-day spending and [...]
GDP: UK faces ‘most dismal decade for growth in 100 years’ February 12, 2026 The UK economy had a minor expansion in the fourth quarter of 2025 coming a touch below expectations as an expected boost from the services sector failed to come to fruition. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy expanded a sluggish 0.1 per cent in three months to December 2025. [...]
Services sector rebound expected to help economy limp towards growth February 10, 2026 Rachel Reeves is set to breathe a minor sigh of relief at the sight of new economic data this week with the UK economy expected to have limped towards growth in December. A survey of City economists by Bloomberg had projected a 0.1 per cent expansion in December and 0.2 per cent for the fourth-quarter. [...]