Why Labour can’t kick Whitehall’s consultancy habit Consulting Since coming to power, Labour has been vocal about cutting spending on external consultants to save taxpayers money. However, data suggests it has actually moved in the opposite direction, as the private sector shows it is a necessity and not a luxury, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The pledge to cut back on external consultants was first [...]
The Debate: Should AGMs have to be in person? Opinion New rules could allow companies to hold AGMs entirely online. We hear the case for and against ditching in-person meetings in today's Debate.
Will Westminster learn the right lessons from Scotland’s education disaster? Education When experiments are run in public policy, evidence can be collected and the policies can be reviewed, scored and either rolled out, tweaked or abandoned. Not every area of policy lends itself to evidence-based analysis, but sometimes it’s clear-cut. We can see, for example, whether tax revenues rise or fall in response to fiscal reforms. [...]
Trade sanctions on Israeli settlements attacked as ‘performative’ September 8, 2026 Trade sanctions imposed by Andy Burnham’s government on Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “performative” and could put the UK’s international standing at threat, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has said. On Tuesday, Ed Miliband announced the government would impose sanctions on companies and individuals who finance or help create settlements in Palestinian land, [...]
How the NHS backlog fuelled a private equity gold rush in UK health market September 8, 2026 Private equity firms are circling the UK’s healthcare market as NHS backlogs push a wave of patients towards private providers, experts have said. Britain’s biggest private hospital operator, Spire Healthcare, which operates 38 private hospitals, on Sunday agreed to a £1bn takeover by Toscafund Asset Management. Earlier this year, private healthcare property firm Assura agreed [...]
Healey wants to focus on the future but business is haunted by past mistakes September 8, 2026 John Healey has a reassuring voice. If he revealed dry rot in your house or rang to tell you of suspicious activity on your account, you’d feel oddly calm about it. He’s not a gifted public speaker, but there is an ease and a glimmer of warmth that stands in stark contrast to the earnest [...]
The UK can still lead in tokenisation – but only if we move fast enough September 8, 2026 Tokenisation will reshape market infrastructure whatever we do – the question is whether the UK wants to shape it or adapt to decisions made elsewhere.
Unleash growth or you’ll have to hike taxes even higher, FTSE 100 boss warns Healey September 8, 2026 The government must unleash growth in the forthcoming Budget or ministers will be forced to hike taxes even higher at future fiscal events, the boss of the largest player in the UK pensions market has warned. Andy Briggs, the chief executive of Standard Life, told City AM the UK’s ageing population leaves the Chancellor John [...]
Can John Healey deliver the growth the UK needs? September 7, 2026 The Chancellor John Healey says growth will provide the “pathway out of indebtedness and into prosperity”. But the path is a difficult one to tread, write Mauricio Alencar. When it was announced that John Healey would be delivering a speech in Coventry, it was assumed that he would be visiting Jaguar Land Rovers’s headquarters with [...]
UK government slashes corporate red tape, cutting paperwork ‘longer than The Hobbit’ September 7, 2026 Ministers have announced sweeping reforms to corporate reporting, aiming to save businesses over £450m annually by ditching “Hobbit-length” paperwork. Under the overhaul, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including local family firms, will be exempt from certain reporting forms and audits, aiming to save businesses thousands of pounds and hours of administrative work. The Department for [...]