Up to £115bn government spending cuts ‘staring us in the face’ October 22, 2025 Around £115bn in cuts to government spending each year are “staring us in the face”, according to a new report, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces increasing pressure to regain control of the public finances. In a paper published by the think tank Policy Exchange, the Chancellor has been warned to prevent a “twin-pronged fiscal crisis” [...]
Bank of England: Global crisis ‘alarm bells’ in private credit October 21, 2025 The Governor of the Bank of England has warned of “alarm bells” in the private credit market as he cautioned of consequences parallel to the 2008 global financial crisis. Andrew Bailey told lawmakers on Tuesday the collapse of US car parts maker First Brands and auto-dealership Tricolor could be “the canary in the coalmine” as [...]
The top one per cent account for a third of tax revenue October 21, 2025 The top one per cent of taxpayers account for around a third of all income tax and capital gains tax paid in 2023-24, it has been revealed. According to HMRC, the top 500,000 taxpayers contributed £93.8bn last year, which represented 33 per cent of the total raised. The top 100,000 paid £54.9bn and covered a [...]
UK government borrowing soars in September to highest in five years October 21, 2025 UK government borrowing soared north of £20bn in September, official data has revealed, in another blow for Rachel Reeves as she gears up for a painful tax-raising Budget next month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said government borrowing over the month was the highest seen for five years and an increase of £1.6bn compared [...]
Third of employers would hire young people if offered tax credits October 21, 2025 Over a third of employers would hire more young people if they were offered tax credits, fresh research has found, amid reports the government is drawing up a plan to subsidise employment for under 24-year-olds. Research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed some 36 per cent of employers claiming they would offer role [...]
FCA’s diversity requirements go ‘far beyond remit’, report warns October 21, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other public sector diversity initiatives go “far beyond” remits set by legal requirements, a report has warned, prompting Reform UK to vow to reset systems to reward “talent and merit alone”. Analysis in a paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has suggested that diversity policies advanced by [...]
Labour’s alarmed by the Green surge? So am I. October 21, 2025 Spare a thought for Keir Starmer; he seems to have been so busy fighting a monster on the right, in the form of Nigel Farage, that he hasn’t noticed another deadly enemy emerging on the left. At least, that’s the concern expressed by some Labour MPs alarmed by the rise of the Greens and, specifically, [...]
Property taxes send UK to ‘second-bottom’ of global rankings October 20, 2025 The UK is second-bottom of global competitiveness rankings for property taxes, fresh analysis has shown, undermining Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ambition to “back the builders, not the blockers”. The Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index placed the UK at 32nd out of 38 in a damning indictment of HMRC’s complicated rules and a higher burden preventing [...]
Rachel Reeves’ growth policies scored by Morning Wire October 20, 2025 As Rachel Reeves does her maths ahead of the 26 November Budget, she will hope that Labour’s policies have delivered enough growth to limit the number of tax hikes needed to restore her £9.9bn fiscal headroom. The fiscal black hole facing the Treasury could be between £20bn and £30bn due to higher borrowing costs, productivity [...]
Rachel Reeves gears up for £1bn savings in Motability October 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning a £1bn savings package through cuts to the Motability scheme offered to disabled people. As part of a drive to plug a £30bn hole in the public purse, the Chancellor is considering reducing the number of BMWs and Mercedes some disability claimants can access through the Motability scheme, which is [...]