Manufacturers accelerate job cuts as firms brace for ‘gloomy’ year April 24, 2025 Manufacturers are shedding staff at the fastest pace in more than four years, according to new data, as they wrestle with soaring energy bills and Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes bite. The downturn in manufacturing output slightly eased in the quarter to April, a survey of hundreds of firms by the Confederation of British Industry [...]
UK manufacturing woes deepen as industry ‘hit on several fronts’ April 1, 2025 The latest S&P Global’s UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows that UK manufacturing’s woes have deepened. S&P Global’s latest PMI survey, which asks around 600 industrial companies about their performances, suggests that manufacturing is again in the downturn following a poor start to the year. The latest figure showed that it decreased to 44.9, which [...]
Reeves needs to make ‘long overdue’ changes to spending, CBI says March 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to make “long overdue” changes to government spending as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) demanded greater investment in innovation. The Chancellor has previously said she is willing to “fight” for growth but leading economists have raised the alarm about an incoming recession. The CBI suggested that an economic [...]
A win on the world stage masks mounting trouble at home March 4, 2025 Keir Starmer has won plaudits for his decision to increase defence spending (albeit by less than the amount he’s given Ed Miliband to run a pretend energy company) and voters appear to be firmly behind the PM’s decision to fund this modest splurge by raiding the international development budget. The latest Morning Wire Freshwater Strategy [...]
CBI: Consumer spending slump deflating private sector confidence March 3, 2025 Sluggish consumer spending is damaging the private sector, according to new CBI data that shows business volumes declining faster than in the last quarter. The CBI has projected that private sector activity will fall for a fourth consecutive quarter in the three months up to May, with a 23 per cent drop in activity for [...]
‘Productivity argument’ against family firm tax breaks, IFS director argues February 25, 2025 There is a “productivity argument” against treating family businesses “generously”, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director has argued, when asked about inheritance tax. Economist Paul Johnson addressed the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in Westminster on Tuesday, which saw environment secretary Steve Reed’s speech interrupted by farming protestors, as well as NFU president Tom [...]
Reform UK call for windfall tax on renewable energy in anti-net zero push February 12, 2025 Reform UK has said they would introduce a windfall tax on renewable energy as they announced they were “serving notice” on the industry. The party has detailed a set of “policies to undo the effects of net zero”, in the wake of a series of polls and voting intention surveys that saw it beat Labour [...]
UK economy: Firms prepare to cut staff as they brace for slowdown, CBI says January 27, 2025 A persistent slowdown in activity among private sector firms could weigh on economic growth over the coming months, with businesses set to cut staff and raise prices, according to a survey. The upcoming increase to national insurance contributions has prompted firms to assess their budgets urgently, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said. Output across [...]