UK economy facing recession risk as Spring Statement looms March 17, 2025 Britain’s fragile jobs market indicates that a recession is looming for the UK economy, a leading think tank has warned. Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the government’s economic record in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, claiming most major economies around the world are facing lower growth than expected. But the Resolution Foundation said the UK [...]
No10: Government ‘absolutely committed’ to independent football regulator March 17, 2025 The government has insisted it remains “absolutely committed” to the incoming football regulator despite chancellor Rachel Reeves’ desire to slash bureaucratic bodies. Reports suggested that plans to get rid of a number of quangos, as well as Reeves’ opinion that regulators are “too slow to get things done”, could have resulted in the Football Governance [...]
Reeves doubles down on fiscal rules amidst waning headroom March 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves doubled down on her fiscal rules in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, despite speculation that economic conditions have left the chancellor with little or no room for manoeuvre. Following the Autumn Budget, Reeves was left with a £9.9bn buffer to maintain her key rule for day-to-day spending to be funded by [...]
Keir Starmer vows to cut costs for business and ‘unleash’ private sector March 17, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to cut costs for businesses and “unleash the power of the private sector” in a bid to deliver economic growth. Writing for Morning Wire the Prime Minister described it as “an outrage” that the government “does not know how much it costs business to comply with the regulations imposed on [...]
The Spring Statement is an opportunity to secure the UK’s economic future March 17, 2025 The Chancellor should prioritise pension reform, enhanced use of digital verification and attracting FDI to kick start growth in the Spring Statement, says Chris Hayward The Chancellor has vowed to kick-start the economy, and the upcoming Spring Statement will be key to making that happen. The source of growth is right here in the City, [...]
OECD slashes UK economic forecasts amid global slowdown March 17, 2025 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut the UK’s economic growth forecasts due to stubborn inflation and an escalating trade war. The OECD’s new interim report scaled back UK growth to 1.4 per cent in 2025 and 1.2 per cent in 2026 – down from previous projections of 1.7 and 1.3 per [...]
Employment dips as businesses brace for cost hikes March 17, 2025 Employment shrank by 0.4 per cent in February as small businesses prepare for rising costs, according to a new report from the hiring platform Employment Hero. In a monthly report looking at data from 105,000 employees, the company found that employment reforms and business tax hikes in the Budget have impacted hiring and employee retention. [...]
Reeves to meet regulators as Starmer pledges to cut red tape March 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves will meet with regulators on Monday, as the government sets out to cut the cost of regulation on businesses by a quarter. The Chancellor has summoned eight regulators to Number 11 Downing Street, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Health and Safety Executive. Sir Keir Starmer told Morning Wire in an [...]
Reeves ramps up pressure on regulators in plan to slash red tape March 17, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has summoned regulators to Downing Street today as part of the government’s plan to slash red tape. At the meeting, Reeves will announce further detail on how the government will be cutting regulations, while setting out plans to slim down or abolish regulators. “Today we are taking further action to free businesses [...]
I’ll cut regulation and unleash the animal spirits of the private sector March 17, 2025 In an exclusive article for Morning Wire, the Prime Minister says “it is an outrage that government does not know how much it costs business to comply with the regulations imposed on them” and declares that his “will be the first government to baseline these costs” – before slashing them. Last week, I set out [...]