Labour is making it more expensive than ever to hire young workers December 3, 2025 Increases to the minimum wage alongside increases in employer NICs have pushed up the costs of employing an 18-year-old by 26 per cent. No wonder youth unemployment is soaring and young people are emigrating in droves, says Emma Revell To say most people are struggling with the state of the British economy would be an [...]
Is Rachel Reeves the Prime Minister’s lucky general? December 2, 2025 Napoleon is supposed to have declared that he’d “rather have lucky generals than good ones.” Here in the UK, it seems we have a Chancellor who fits just such a mould. Only the most loyal Labour MPs would declare that Rachel Reeves is a good Chancellor, and in doing so they’d be setting themselves firmly [...]
Labour hopes AI will save UK economy from jobs crisis November 20, 2025 The government has announced a sweeping package of AI investment intended to create thousands of new jobs across the UK, at a time when businesses warn that rising employment costs and rapid advances in AI are already driving workforce reductions. Ministers have confirmed billions of pounds of private and public AI investment, including a new [...]
John Caudwell: Britain needs more employment, not more employment law November 13, 2025 The Employment Rights Bill shift the balance too far in favour of workers at the expense of bosses, and will strangle job creation as a result, says John Caudwell As an entrepreneur, I built successful businesses that employed many thousands of people. That experience taught me two things. First, Britain’s prosperity depends on successful employers [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Taylor Wimpey and Fuller’s Budget warning; Starmer under fire November 12, 2025 Good morning from the Morning Wire live blog team. The FTSE 100 is springing back to life this week, managing to seal its second consecutive record close at 9,899.60p after a 1.15 per cent gain and bringing the index a whisker away from the 10,000 mark. The blue-chip index has rallied after the US government [...]
Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth November 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]
Jobs market decline ‘fuels hopes’ for Bank of England interest rate cut November 11, 2025 The jump in the unemployment rate and softening private sector wage growth is driving up expectations of an interest rate cut at the Bank of England’s next meeting in mid-December. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate had jumped to 5 per cent, higher than economists had expected, while wage growth had [...]
Unemployment rate surges to 5 per cent November 11, 2025 The UK unemployment rate has surged to a post-pandemic high in further signs the jobs market has struggled to bounce back, amid interest rate cuts and adjustments to last year’s tax raid on employers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate had hit 5 per cent as there were 32,000 fewer payrolled [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Vodafone shares lead blue-chip rally; Unemployment rises November 11, 2025 Good morning from the Morning Wire liveblog team. What are you looking forward to more – Black Friday or Budget day? They are two vital days that UK retailers are bracing for in this month’s calendar, both of which can provide a major boost to firms – or crushing disappointment. Retail sales today show another [...]
Labour’s assault on jobs will undermine growth November 4, 2025 Rachel Reeves is engaged in a complicated dance with the Office for Budget Responsibility in the run up to her second Budget. When the fiscal watchdog presents its scorecard on the Chancellor’s plans – and on wider government policies – the music will stop and we’ll see whether Reeves pulls off a surprising lift, or [...]