UK cannot afford triple lock pension, OBR says July 8, 2025 The UK government cannot afford to keep the triple lock pension, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced staunch opposition from within her own party and seemingly from the wider electorate over cuts to welfare spending as she bids to meet fiscal rules that prevent high borrowing from further [...]
Rachel Reeves warned against piling on small business tax pain July 8, 2025 As Rachel Reeves circles new avenues to boost tax receipts, the Chancellor has faced a fresh warning to ease the pain for small businesses. Businesses have called for Reeves to reverse her Autumn Budget tax hikes and ease the burden for firms as they suffer the crunch of economic uncertainty. One in five small- and [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Cash ISA plans will punish Brits who just want stability July 8, 2025 The Chancellor isn't wrong to try and get Brits investing, but Cash ISA reform won't work, writes Antonia Medlicott.
OBR warns unfunded spending to damage UK finances amid ‘daunting’ risks July 8, 2025 The UK economy is set for a “daunting” year as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned unfunded spending commitments and global trade tensions are likely to damage public finances. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing pressure to assuage Labour backbenchers by not cutting welfare spending while also upholding a pledge not to raise tax [...]
Monzo slapped with £21m fine by City regulator July 8, 2025 Monzo has been slapped with a £21m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority after “repeatedly” opening accounts for “high-risk” customers. The UK fintech was blasted by the City watchdog for failing to keep the pace of its crime control with its customer and product growth. Between August 2020 and June 2022, Monzo signed up over [...]
Charities ‘penalised’ by Rachel Reeves’ taxes July 8, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ hike to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) has “penalised” staff at charities up and down the UK, a new study has suggested. Rachel Reeves has reportedly suggested the £20bn tax raid on mid-sized firms was “low hanging fruit” to provide extra funding for the NHS and schools. But the collateral damage from [...]
Stephen Kinnock says Reeves looking ‘very carefully’ at wealth tax July 8, 2025 Health minister Stephen Kinnock has given the strongest hint yet that a wealth tax might be on the agenda for the government after his father – the former Labour leader Lord Kinnock – intervened to push for the policy over the weekend. The junior Kinnock told LBC’s Shelagh Fogarty that the government has “already taken [...]
Trump tariffs: Fresh delay as UK steel exemption hangs in the balance July 8, 2025 Downing Street would not say whether the Government was confident that a deal to eliminate American tariffs on UK steel would be struck as Donald Trump’s deadline looms. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Monday that US President Donald Trump would be delaying an increase to the baseline 10 per cent tariff rate [...]
Labour go on about Liz Truss but are repeating all Rishi Sunak’s mistakes July 8, 2025 Too many in Labour congratulate themselves for rescuing the country from Liz Truss, forgetting that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt did most of the work. No wonder backbenchers are angry about a policy platform that’s barely distinct form their Tory predecessors, says Will Cooling There’s no shortage of things that have gone wrong with the [...]
A wealth tax would be a disaster – and an admission of total failure July 8, 2025 Why wouldn’t Downing Street rule out a wealth tax? It isn’t difficult, you just say “we will not introduce a wealth tax” and the show moves on. Instead, when asked about the growing clamour in Labour circles for new tax aimed squarely at the well-off, Downing Street’s spokesperson simply talked about the need for “the [...]