Scotch Whisky Association calls for spirits duty freeze as industry headwinds grow October 15, 2025 The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has urged the UK Government to impose a multi-year freeze on spirits duty, warning that continued inaction threatens jobs, investment and Treasury revenues. In a submission ahead of the autumn Budget, the trade body stated that recent duty increases had cost the Treasury £700m while placing a £12 tax burden [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Ofcom fines Royal Mail, CMA’s vet crackdown October 15, 2025 Good morning from the Morning Wire liveblog team. 15 months on from Labour’s stunning general election victory and a month out from its next budget, how is the City feeling about the current government? It’s safe to say that enthusiasm has waned a little since high expectations were set last year. Some City analysts are [...]
Reeves to limit legal challenges to key infrastructure projects October 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has ordered courts to open hearings on judicial review processes which could threaten to block critical infrastructure projects within four months of an application being made as part of a pre-Budget rush to introduce growth-inducing reforms. As part of a new set of planning-related proposals on Wednesday, the High Court will have [...]
China spy scandal shows there’s no national security without economic sovereignty October 15, 2025 The government has made clear it thinks Beijing’s cash is more important that our own laws, there is another choice, says Tom Tugendhat The collapse of the China spy case says more about Britain than China, and more about our economy than any Treasury forecast. The government has made clear they think we have no [...]
Self-inflicted damage makes mockery of government growth pledge October 15, 2025 Back in June, before Donald Trump orchestrated a tentative peace in the Middle East, he reacted with fury to Israel and Iran’s escalating exchange of missile and drone attacks, telling reporters “they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.” Sometimes undiplomatic language has its place, even in high-stakes diplomacy. I was reminded of this approach [...]
IMF downgrades UK growth and warns inflation will be highest in G7 October 14, 2025 Inflation in the UK is set to surge above all G7 countries in the next two years while growth per capita will lag behind the average across advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF has said that inflation in the UK will remain higher than [...]
UK economy set for marginal August growth October 14, 2025 The UK economy is expected to have marginally grown in August after a sharp slowdown in activity in the second half of the year. A Bloomberg poll of economists suggests the UK economy is expected to grow by just 0.1 per cent over the one-month period, with a contraction of 0.2 per cent in the [...]
JP Morgan bulks up financial cushion as Dimon warns of uncertainty October 14, 2025 JP Morgan has bulked up its financial cushion against loan losses as chair Jamie Dimon warns of heightened risk and global uncertainty. The lender set aside an additional $810m (£610.2m) to cover potential losses from unpaid loans. This defensive money consisted of $608m earmarked for consumer loans – such as credit cards and mortgages – [...]
State pension set to rise by more than expected in blow to Reeves October 14, 2025 The state pension is set to rise by more than previously expected after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised up its figures on wage growth for July, piling extra costs on public finances for Chancellor Rachel Reeves at this year’s Budget. The ONS revised up its wage growth figure for July from 4.7 per [...]
Leeds Reforms trigger wave of recruitment in legal banking October 14, 2025 Job vacancies for banking lawyers are expected to soar, driven by the government’s Leeds Reforms which seek to unlock capital and overhaul the ring-fencing framework. Labour market analytics from Vacancysoft reveal that Britain’s legal sector is predicting significant growth in banking roles, both in private practice and in-house at major banks. The report projected a [...]