Milburn review: Youth unemployment crisis costs £125bn a year due to ‘broken system’ May 28, 2026 The crisis of nearly a million young people who are out of education, employment or training – known as ‘Neets’ – costs the UK economy up to £125bn a year, the Alan Milburn review has found, as both the government and the private sector were blamed for failing to address youth unemployment. An extensive report [...]
Number of Neets passes 1m May 28, 2026 The number of Neets, otherwise young people not in education, employment or work, jumped past 1m in the first three months of 2026, official data has revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that there were 1,012,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 out of work in the first three [...]
As it happened: Stocks plummet on latest Iran war tensions; Neets crisis a ‘human tragedy’ May 28, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. The US and Iran are back to exchanging fire in a major blow to hopes of peace in the Middle East. Tehran struck an American airbase overnight in its retaliation for the US striking a military site that it said “posed a threat to US forces [...]
Local authorities thwart housebuilding with ‘manifestly unfair’ council tax raid on developers May 28, 2026 Cash-strapped local authorities across Britain are thwarting efforts to increase housebuilding by hitting property developers with steep council tax bills as soon as their homes are listed as complete, an influential industry body has warned. In a paper shared with Morning Wire, the boss of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) accused local councils of slapping [...]
Mark Kleinman: Reeves revels in ring-fencing reform May 28, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his Morning Wire column Reeves revels in ring-fencing reform Is Rachel Reeves about to rip up ring-fencing? It was a question I posed in this column just over a year ago. Now, we have an answer of sorts. The Chancellor’s announcement [...]
Ask the expert: Should I invest instead of buying a home? May 28, 2026 Fidelity personal financial specialist Marianna Hunt is back on hand to answer your burning questions, and today a reader wants to know whether to take the plunge and buy a property or invest. Q. I’m in my late 20s and have managed to save around £20,000, which I initially thought I’duse as a deposit to [...]
Retailers ramp up pressure on Reeves to scrap tax break for e-commerce rivals May 27, 2026 Retailers have urged Rachel Reeves to “revitalise the high street” by speeding up plans to close a tax break which they say unfairly favours Chinese e-commerce rivals. High street giants like Next, M&S and Primark have urged the Chancellor to impose a £2.60 flat fee on small parcels to rebalance a system which they say [...]
Energy price cap to jump 13 per cent this summer May 27, 2026 UK households will be hit by a sharp £200 rise in energy bills next month, leaving Brits bracing for a painful winter of higher bills off the back of the Iran war. From 1 July to 30 September the annual energy price cap will be £1,862 per year, up from the current cap of £1,641, [...]
As it happened: US-Iran peace hopes sends oil lower; Brits handed energy price cap blow May 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Global markets were able to take the new developments in the Middle East in their stride on Tuesday amid hopes a peace deal was on the horizon. The FTSE 100 ended the day in the green and despite some choppy trading oil prices eased. This [...]
Moneybox profit slides as wealth manager bets on ‘high levels of automation’ May 27, 2026 Moneybox saw its profit slide by nearly a quarter in the last year as the wealth manager invested “heavily” in new technology and bet on “high levels of automation”. The London-based fintech notched its third consecutive year of profitability but faced a 23 per cent drop in its pre-tax takings at £14.9m by the end [...]