UK dominates European investment appeal despite drop in activity June 9, 2025 The UK has continued to storm ahead of its European rivals as the region’s most attractive destination for financial services investment, despite a sharp drop in activity. The UK recorded 73 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024, a steep 32 per cent drop from 108 the previous year, according to EY’s latest Attractiveness Survey for [...]
Government’s pension pot raid risks leaving millions underfunded June 8, 2025 Government plans to allow companies to extract cash from final salary pension schemes have come under fire after fresh analysis found the policy could put millions of retirees’ savings at risk. The Pension Schemes Bill, introduced last week, creates new rules allowing employers to remove “surplus” cash from defined benefits (DB) pension schemes, which are [...]
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform – just two days after quitting June 8, 2025 Zia Yusuf is returning to Reform UK as head of their “UK DOGE” programme. Just two days after the party chairman stepped down, following a dispute with the party over whether they would support the introduction of a burqa ban, Yusuf announced his new role on social media. Yusuf said he reconsidered stepping away from [...]
Businesses should dictate on burka ban, Badenoch says June 8, 2025 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace. Badenoch also said people who come to her constituency surgeries must remove their face coverings “whether it’s a burka or a balaclava”. Badenoch posted a video on X of part of her interview with [...]
Cut net zero and welfare spending instead of police budget, Tory MP blasts June 8, 2025 The shadow home secretary has slammed the Labour government amid mounting speculation police budgets are on the chopping block in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review. Chris Philp told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he believes police funding should be protected from cuts following concerns of a shrinking workforce. “I think I’m very concerned that [...]
Reeves mulls taxpayer-funded subsidy to cut manufacturers’ energy costs June 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is looking at plans for a £1bn taxpayer-funded annual subsidy to bring down the energy costs for manufacturers after warnings the UK faced “rapid deindustrialisation” without intervention. The Chancellor is facing mounting pressure to lower energy costs for industry with fears high prices are holding back investment opportunities and stifling the country’s competitiveness. [...]
Can government force £2.5bn Abramovich Chelsea funds to Ukraine? June 8, 2025 Last week the UK government threatened to take Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to court to make sure the £2.5bn raised from his sale of Chelsea FC went to Ukraine. Abramovich owned Chelsea from 2003 until his forced sale in 2022 following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. But the proceeds of the sale to a consortium [...]
Reeves to unveil £86bn science and technology funding in spending review June 8, 2025 Research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will receive new funding as part of an Chancellor Reeves’ £86bn package for science and technology set to be announced in next week’s spending review. Regions will be handed up to £500m with local leaders given powers to decide how investment is targeted in their communities, the Department [...]
Home Office plans to spend £2.2bn of foreign aid on asylum support June 7, 2025 The Home Office plans to spend about £2.2 billion of foreign aid to support asylum seekers this financial year, according to new figures. The amount of overseas development assistance (ODA) budgeted by the Home Office – which is largely used to cover accommodation costs such as hotels for asylum seekers – is slightly less than [...]
DESNZ shedding nuclear ministers as spending review threatens net zero mission June 6, 2025 The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has lost two ministers in the span of a month in a blow to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Philip Hunt, nuclear minister, retired less than a year into his tenure, citing wanting to spend more time with his family. He was followed in short succession by [...]