Defence splurge cannot fund planned expansion, military chief says January 14, 2026 The Labour government’s commitment to increase defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP from next year will not fully fund the planned expansion of the armed forces, a top military official has warned. Sir RIchard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, told MPs on Monday the rise in government funding would not be enough [...]
Davos: Economic war is the ‘biggest global risk’ January 14, 2026 Trade wars and economic disputes between global powers are the biggest risk to the world over the next two years, business leaders, academics and government officials have said in a report ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos meeting. Nearly a fifth of respondents in a survey (18 per cent) by the World Economic Forum [...]
Reeves confirms ‘temporary support’ for pubs amid row over misleading claims January 14, 2026 Rachel Reeves has confirmed “temporary support” for pubs in a climbdown over the business rates row, as a chief tax official claimed the Treasury was warned about the damaging impact of tax reforms after ministers claimed they had been in the dark about the changes. The Chancellor confirmed on Wednesday that she will roll out [...]
EU banking rules could ‘choke investment’ from booming City January 14, 2026 The European Union threatens derailing its economic growth through changes to banking regulation after London beefed up its lending capacity following a Brexit boom. The 27-state bloc is set to bring in new legislation which will effectively ban non-EU banks from providing core banking services – such as lending and taking deposits – without establishing [...]
Former OBR chair takes aim at Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules January 13, 2026 The former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has taken aim at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules, suggesting they prevent UK public finances from building enough “resilience”. In his first public appearance since his resignation last month due to the leaked Budget, Richard Hughes said the current fiscal rules were “among the loosest” the [...]
Scottish higher earners at risk of being hammered with more tax January 13, 2026 Higher earners in Scotland could pay over £1,000 more in extra tax, as the Scottish Finance Secretary copies Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget playbook. Finance Secretary Shona Robison opted to raise the tax threshold for both basic and intermediate tax payers, but left the higher rate unchanged, which is likely to drag more earners into higher [...]
Young people seek to boost savings to offset cost of living squeeze January 13, 2026 Young people are seeking to save more money in 2026, as the cost of living crisis focuses minds on careful financial management. According to the latest Morning Wire polling from Freshwater strategy, over half of Britons are aiming to save money, but a staggering 70 per cent of 18 to 34 year olds are prioritising [...]
Retail investor tax anxiety hits record highs January 13, 2026 Retail investor anxiety surrounding taxes has hit a record high, as Brits work to absorb the impact of Autumn Budget policy changes. Nearly 50 per cent of UK investors said they were concerned about the impact of taxes and government policies on the performance of their portfolios for the coming year in December, up from [...]
Labour to unveil new Birmingham-Manchester rail link after HS2 fiasco January 13, 2026 Ministers are poised to unveil plans to build a new railway line running from Birmingham to Manchester as part of a major overhaul of rail infrastructure in the North – but it won’t break ground for roughly a decade. Rachel Reeves will reveal the heavily delayed shake-up of east-west railway lines across the north of [...]
Vast majority of Brits expect more damaging tax hikes in 2026 January 13, 2026 Nearly four in five Brits are bracing themselves for further tax rises this year, with voters fearing that more money going into government coffers will damage growth. Keir Starmer has kicked off the year with pitches on improving the cost of living for millions of people across the country. Extra welfare payments for some families [...]