Rachel Reeves urged to levy one-off wealth tax October 13, 2025 Researchers say Rachel Reeves should introduce a one-off wealth tax to avoid the “direct disincentive” of an annual levy. But the Chancellor risks wreaking havoc on the UK economy unless she breaks Labour manifesto commitments and introduces vast reforms to the wider tax system, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). [...]
OBR risks being ‘unreasonably pessimistic’ as Reeves set to be given leeway October 10, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) risks being “unreasonably pessimistic” if it decides to downgrade productivity growth trends by more than 0.1 percentage point, fresh analysis has indicated, in what could hand Chancellor Rachel Reeves some extra leeway at this year’s Budget. The fiscal watchdog is widely expected to downgrade productivity forecasts as part of [...]
Autumn Budget: ‘Window is closing’ on Labour’s growth mission October 9, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of BusinessLDN shares what he thinks could be the capital’s 21st century moment. The “window is closing” on the government’s mission to achieve economic growth, the boss of London’s business advocacy group [...]
Rachel Reeves vs the Hydra (the black hole that keeps on growing) October 8, 2025 Super-heroine Rachel Reeves is in battle with a mythical beast that keeps multiplying, and the OBR won't help her, writes Paul Ormerod.
Rachel Reeves warns ‘harder choices’ coming at Budget September 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned that her choices will be “harder” at this year’s Budget, with questions being raised on whether she will row back on Labour manifesto tax commitments to plug a £30bn shortfall. In a speech at the Labour Party conference, Reeves said that “harsh global headwinds” and the effects of her Tory [...]
Farage confronts ‘dinosaur’ Bailey on Bank’s independence September 25, 2025 Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and Richard Tice challenged Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Treasury losses from quantitative tightening (QT) at a showdown meeting on Thursday morning, with market instability partly caused by the programme and stablecoins regulation raised as subjects of discussion. Farage and Tice sat down with the Bank of England Governor [...]
Pat McFadden says lifting two-child benefit cap must be budgeted September 24, 2025 Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden has conceded that any plans to lift the two-child benefit cap must be “budgeted” amid growing calls from key Labour figures for the Tory-era policy to be scrapped. McFadden warned Labour backbenchers that any commitment to lift the cap would have to be funded by higher government revenue. “Everything [...]
Labour considers relaxing global talent visa in answer to Trump’s clampdown September 22, 2025 A UK government task force is considering plans to remove fee costs for the global talent visa after the US slapped a $100,000 charge on one of its key worker visas. On Friday night, President Trump put hundreds of thousands of workers on high alert after he signed an executive order adding a hefty business [...]
Labour warned Employment Rights Bill will damage jobs market September 17, 2025 Labour’s Employment Rights Bill must be changed immediately to prevent the UK’s jobs market crisis from worsening, top business groups have warned Peter Kyle in a last-ditch attempt to secure growth-focused changes. The government’s workers’ rights reforms have faced strong opposition from thousands of businesses across the UK, with bodies representing their interests claiming changes [...]
OBR ‘downgrades productivity’ in major pre-Budget blow to Rachel Reeves September 16, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly told Chancellor Rachel Reeves that it will downgrade productivity forecasts for the UK economy, blowing a hole in the public finances and making tax hikes all but guaranteed at this year’s November Budget. In another setback for the Labour government, the OBR has informed the Treasury that [...]