Rachel Reeves’ Budget was ‘monumentally mishandled,’ says London-listed bank December 11, 2025 A London-listed bank has given its scathing assessment of Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget and warned of the impact it will have on consumer confidence. S&U – which was founded in 1938 and once known as Sports and Utilities – said the performance of its motor finance and property financing arms was “remarkably resilient given [...]
Sadiq Khan has derailed Labour’s nationalisation plans December 11, 2025 How is Keir Starmer’s plan to renationalise Britain’s railways going? Badly, if events in London are anything to go by. Yesterday we learned that Transport for London has awarded a £3bn, 10-year contract to First Group to operate the London Overground when the current contract with Arriva expires next year. That’s in direct conflict with [...]
Labour rail pledge in doubt after £3bn private contract to run London Overground December 11, 2025 London Mayor Said Khan has caused a row within the Labour party after First Group was awarded a £3bn deal to operate the London Overground, a move which seemingly flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitment to bring railways back into public ownership. On Tuesday the London-listed transport group revealed that it would begin [...]
Rachel Reeves: Leak to the FT was inaccurate December 10, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves slammed briefings provided to media outlets in the lead-up to the Budget as she referred to a specific Financial Times news report which had “partial and inaccurate” information. In a Treasury Select Committee hearing on Wednesday morning, the Chancellor hit out at leaks in the months leading up to the Budget, adding [...]
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 [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Reeves scrutinised, Fed interest rates decision, stocks suffer December 10, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog covering the FTSE 100 and other big market moves. Rachel Reeves is set for a showdown with MPs on the Treasury Select Committee later today while the Federal Reserve is expected to slash interest rates by 25 basis points by the evening. Reeves will begin [...]
Labour believes success is something to be ashamed of December 10, 2025 Two successive Budgets have done unspeakable damage to small and medium sized firms across the country, but the government does not seem keen to reserve the punishment for set piece fiscal events, says John O’Connell After the relentless pre-Budget leaks was the catastrophic event itself. Then came the forensic analysis of who knew what when [...]
The government is using Brexit as a scapegoat for its own failures December 10, 2025 Keir Starmer is clearly manoeuvring to get Britain to rejoin the EU – but Brexit is not to blame for Britain’s appalling growth record, says Paul Ormerod David Lammy, the deputy Prime Minister, chose last week to reopen the issue of the UK rejoining the EU. Asked if we will go back into the customs [...]
UK property tax burden is fourth heaviest in OECD December 9, 2025 The UK’s property tax burden is the fourth heaviest in the OECD’s list of 38 countries and it is more than double the average across the list of advanced economies. In a report on government revenue levels across most of the world’s largest economies, the OECD said the UK’s taxes on property as a percentage [...]
Reeves denies authorising Budget leaks December 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has rejected accusations that she authorised leaks of the Budget to media outlets in the run-up to her statement, which led to sharp turns in bond markets and worsening business confidence. During Treasury Questions on Tuesday afternoon, Reeves was asked by her counterpart Mel Stride whether she authorised or allowed confidential details [...]