Reeves opens door for mayors to impose ‘damaging’ tourist tax November 25, 2025 Mayors in England are set to be given new powers to levy a tourist tax on visitors to fund local projects under a new policy. Reeves will give mayors the ability to impose a “modest” charge on visitors staying in hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and holiday lets through the English Devolution and Community [...]
Labour to hold fire on ‘fish disco’ nuclear power reform due to ‘legal advice’ November 25, 2025 The Labour government is set to hold fire on pushing through sweeping reforms to nuclear energy due to a legal adviser’s concerns over the “UK’s environmental, trade and human rights obligations”, it has been reported. The Innovate UK member John Fingleton published a damning report on red tape blocking the expansion of the country’s nuclear [...]
It’s not just LISAs: Stamp duty land tax is a London problem too November 25, 2025 Getting on the property ladder is getting harder and harder for young people. Dwindling housing supply coupled with growing demand for property has left sellers receiving offers significantly above the asking price, with squeezed buyers turning to family members to fund ballooning deposits. But the costs do not end when the keys are handed over. [...]
Budget: Odds to be slashed if betting industry taxed higher, Reeves warned November 25, 2025 Tax rises for the betting sector in tomorrow’s Budget could leave punters with worse odds across all sports, say industry spokespeople. Chancellor Rachel Reeves may target so-called “sin taxes” on Wednesday as she looks to fill a fiscal black hole, with the gambling sector expected to be hit. Reeves could exempt flutters on horse racing [...]
There’s nothing new in Zack Polanski’s fantasy economics November 25, 2025 Let’s go for a lyrical opening to this column: “The newspapers shout a new style is growing, but I don’t know if it’s coming or going, there is fashion, there is fad, some is good, some is bad, and the joke – rather sad – that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.” [...]
Here’s what to expect on Budget day November 24, 2025 An unusually late and extraordinarily widely briefed Budget has attracted more nerves and anticipation than any in recent memory. So when Rachel Reeves takes to the dispatch box just after midday on Wednesday, she is set to do so with the knowledge that her fate – and the Prime Minister’s – rest on placating at [...]
Advertising giants’ share prices tumble as Big Tech swallows up ad spend November 24, 2025 The scale of the difficulties facing the advertising market was laid bare on Monday after two London-listed industry titans saw their share prices plummet after they slashed profit and sales expectations. M&C Saatchi’s share price tumbled a staggering 11.9 per cent to 111p, with shares down 36.9 per cent this year to date, while shares [...]
How to make a ‘smorgasbord’ Budget more appetising for business November 24, 2025 If the Chancellor is incapable of making the bold tax reforms businesses need at the upcoming Budget, there are some smaller measures that would be beneficial, says Louise Hellem At the CBI we are urging the Chancellor to make bold moves on Wednesday and not to subject the economy to death by a thousand taxes. [...]
Bosses warn Reeves against ‘stop-start economy’ November 24, 2025 The boss of one of the UK’s largest industry groups has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to avoid taking measures that lock in the country’s “stop-start economy” in a pre-Budget speech ratcheting up pressure on the government to unleash growth. In a landmark speech on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the Confederation of [...]
Astrazeneca injects $2bn to boost US manufacturing capabilities November 24, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Astrazeneca plans to invest $2bn into growing its manufacturing footprint in Maryland, as part of its efforts to boost its US capabilities and presence. The investment will support the “significant expansion” of its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick, doubling its capacity and increasing its medicine supply, as well as the construction of [...]