Reeves must provide ‘more stable’ tax policy, finance bosses say May 20, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing pressure to provide a “clearer, more stable tax environment,” when she delivers her growth strategy in July. The Chancellor is once again in the spotlight after a damning report from finance bosses indicated the industry was prepped to support growth ambitions, but structural barriers were holding them back. Top players in [...]
Starmer sends his critics into a spin – but will Brexit deal deliver? May 20, 2025 The Prime Minister says it’s now “time to move on from the stale old debates” of Brexit. It’s amazing he didn’t crack a grin as he said these words, knowing as he did that his critics would immediately work themselves up into a frenzy. The critics – including, but not limited to Nigel Farage and [...]
Thousands of university spinouts at risk over poor levels of support, experts warn May 19, 2025 The UK could be missing out on thousands of cutting-edge spinout companies amid a dearth in funding and a shortage in support for founders, experts have warned. In October, the government committed as much as £40m to support spinouts over a five-year period in a bid to bridge the so-called “valley of death” between academic [...]
Is this a sweet trade deal with the EU – or does it sound a bit fishy? May 19, 2025 Keir Starmer will be boasting about his latest catch in international diplomacy: a trade deal with the European Union, which the government hopes will boost the chances of landing higher growth. In an agreement that hands EU boats continued rights in British seas until 2038, slashing red tape on food checks and increasing cooperation on [...]
Pragmatism or surrender? Starmer’s EU deal explained. May 19, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared that “Britain is back on the world stage” as an agreement on the post-Brexit “reset” of relations with the EU was unveiled at a summit in London. There are provisions for key areas like food standards, energy, youth mobility, security, and steel with ministers claiming that the new deals [...]
Boris Johnson: Starmer the ‘manacled gimp of Brussels’ after ‘one-sided’ EU trade deal May 19, 2025 Boris Johnson has slammed Sir Keir Starmer as an “orange ball-chewing manacled gimp of Brussels”, in a colourful post on X. The former Prime Minister repeatedly referred to his Labour successor as “two-tier Keir”, suggesting that the “hopelessly one sided” deal would render the UK “the non-voting punk of the EU Commission”. The intervention follows [...]
Revolut looks to France for major European expansion May 19, 2025 British-born digital bank Revolut has chosen Paris for its fresh Western Europe headquarters with a major €1bn investment. The fintech giant said it will create over 200 jobs in France, in what it calls the “largest investment in the French financial sector in a decade.” The firm has also applied for a French banking licence, [...]
Natwest and Lloyds to cash in as Reeves hints at ring-fencing reform May 19, 2025 Rachel Reeves has told top bank bosses she is “open-minded” to ditch the ring-fencing regime imposed on major banks. The Chancellor was lobbied by the chiefs of HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest and Santander to scrap the 15-year-old legislation last month. Lenders slammed the system – which requires firms to keep their retail bank operations separate from [...]
Inflation set to ramp up after ‘Awful April’ May 19, 2025 Inflation is expected to have risen above three per cent last month in data which will reflect the costly impacts of what has been dubbed ‘Awful April’ due to tax rises and bill hikes. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted inflation to come in at 3.3 per cent, a sharp spike from March when [...]
Firms delay tax payments as costs soar May 19, 2025 Unpaid business tax liabilities are averaging as much as £28bn a month this year, official data has revealed, suggesting firms are struggling to keep up with mounting costs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax hikes last autumn, including rises to employers’ national insurance contributions, were designed to lift the public finances and reduce borrowing. But new [...]