Cut beer duty by five per cent to create 12,000 jobs, pubs urge Chancellor September 18, 2024 Cutting beer duty by five per cent could create up to 12,000 jobs, a beer and pub association has urged the Chancellor ahead of next month’s Budget. The brewery and hospitality industries are urging the government to continue supporting them to invest and maintain the 1,040,000 jobs across the sector. Jobs could be at risk [...]
UK tech faces talent exodus if founders are penalised by tax hikes September 17, 2024 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget will prioritise economic growth and wealth creation. But moves to hike taxes that will hurt Britain’s entrepreneurs are putting that pledge in doubt. As British businessman Sir Martin Sorrell warned in Morning Wire: “Increasing capital gains tax, especially without index-linking or time apportionment, [...]
‘Strike right balance’ on flexible working, business groups urge Labour September 17, 2024 Ministers must allow firms to “strike the right balance” on flexible working, business lobby groups have urged. It comes after business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told The Times alternative work schedules “contribute to productivity” and could be “significant” in tackling regional inequality issues, amid debate over the government’s proposed plans for workers’ rights reforms. He said, [...]
Ed Miliband brands renewable energy transition a ‘national security fight’ against nimbys September 17, 2024 Britain’s transition to renewable energy is the “economic justice, energy security and national security fight of our time”, Ed Miliband has said, as he pledged to “take on the blockers”. The energy security and net zero secretary told Energy UK’s annual conference in London that fossil fuel “dependence” continued to leave the UK “deeply vulnerable [...]
Oxford Street: Former MP for the City and Westminster brands pedestrianisation ‘bullying’ September 17, 2024 A row has erupted over Sadiq Khan’s plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street as the area’s former MPs branded the move “bullying”. The mayor of London today unveiled proposals to ban traffic from the iconic central London retail destination, in what he hopes will reinvigorate the nation’s “most famous high street”. But Nickie Aiken, the former [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell: Labour’s working week reforms won’t help firms September 17, 2024 British businessman Sir Martin Sorrell has said that altering the working week will not boost productivity in the UK, pushing back on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledges to transform Britain’s work culture.
Oxford Street: Sadiq Khan plans to pedestrianise iconic retail centre September 17, 2024 Sadiq Khan has announced plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street in a bid to reinvigorate the nation’s “most famous high street” and attract more shoppers. The mayor of London has announced the proposals to turn the road into a traffic-free avenue, alongside a wider regeneration of the shopping destination. Pedestrianisation plans would be delivered via the [...]
The Bank of England decision that really matters this week September 17, 2024 The Bank of England's interest rate decision later this week looks like a done deal. But there is another, arguably more important, decision you should be paying attention to, Chris Dorrell writes
Economic inactivity due to sickness could reach 4.3m, report warns September 17, 2024 The UK’s level of economic inactivity due to sickness could reach 4.3m by the end of this parliament, with an “unthinkable human and economic cost”, a health report has warned. A cross-party commission on health and prosperity, led by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has published its findings on the future of Britain’s [...]
Yes, the UK needs more investment – just not necessarily by government September 17, 2024 After all, the public sector isn't always best suited to overseeing large scale investment projects like the disastrous HS2, writes Julian Jessop