We are governed by people who don’t know what they’re doing August 6, 2025 Almost 100,000 jobs in the hospitality sector have disappeared since the government unveiled its hike to employers’ National Insurance Contributions, and lowered the threshold at which it is paid. Employers have also had to contend with a rise in the minimum wage amid a storm of other headwinds including inflation, energy costs and generally weak [...]
Has Reeves realised she’s reached the limits of taxation? August 6, 2025 Much of the economic damage has already been done, but in ruling out wealth taxes and further pay deals with doctors, at least the Chancellor is allowing a shimmer of light to peep through, says Paul Ormerod England’s cricketers narrowly failed to score the 374 runs needed to beat India in the final Test match [...]
Rachel Reeves needs £50bn tax raid to stick to fiscal rules, economists warn August 6, 2025 The Treasury will need to raise more than £50bn in fresh taxes to stay within its fiscal rules, one of the UK’s most prestigious economic groups has warned, laying bare the scale of the pain that could be wrought on businesses by Rachel Reeves in the autumn. The government is set to miss its “stability [...]
Labour urged to come clean on exit tax August 5, 2025 Labour ministers have been urged to clarify whether the government will introduce an exit tax as Tax Policy Associates chief Dan Neidle warned rumours could be “damaging” for the UK economy. Chancellor Rachel Reeves looks poised to raise more than £20bn in taxes later this year amid a shortfall in the fiscal headroom left by [...]
UK economy sees fastest services orders slowdown since Liz Truss August 5, 2025 Hopes of a quick recovery to the UK economy are fading as orders in the services sector fell at the fastest rate since Liz Truss’ mini-budget in late 2022, fresh data has suggested. S&P Global’s latest composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a fall from a score of 52 in June to 51.5, which remains [...]
Ordnance Survey: Financial services firms help boost sales to new record August 5, 2025 Profit at Ordnance Survey has slipped despite its revenue jumping to almost £200m during the historic company’s latest financial year. The Southampton-headquartered business, which traces its roots back to the reign of George III, has posted a pre-tax profit of £17.6m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, down from the £22m it achieved [...]
Migrant returns deal to begin ‘within days’ August 5, 2025 The UK’s migrant returns deal with France is set to begin “within days”, the government has said, as Home Office officials brace to defend the pact against any legal challenges after “learning from the errors” of the previous government’s Rwanda deal. In the first agreement of its kind, the UK will return dozens of illegal [...]
Ouch! Starmer and Reeves now less popular than Donald Trump August 5, 2025 Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are now less popular than Donald Trump in the eyes of British voters. According to the latest Morning Wire/Freshwater survey, Donald Trump and his on-off acolyte Elon Musk are ferociously unpopular with the average UK citizen. More than 57 per cent of respondents told pollsters they had an unfavourable view [...]
Brits are gloomy – and not just about the weather August 5, 2025 Writers often agonise over how a column performs. I can see how many people read the online version of the Editor’s Letter and while our analytics don’t yet tell me what people make of my opinions they often spark a lively debate on LinkedIn. That can be satisfying, but that’s a self-selecting crowd of people [...]
Inaccurate crime rate statistics have gaslighted the British public August 5, 2025 The UK government knows very little about the people it governs. From crime rates to the labour market, this has real consequences.