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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Downing Street flirts with wealth tax despite exodus fears July 7, 2025 The UK’s unprecedented exodus of wealthy people could be set to accelerate after the government opened the door to introducing a wealth tax, following calls for such a move by former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock and a host of union leaders. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has all but conceded that taxes will have to rise [...]
Personal guarantees ‘overuse’ holding UK growth back July 7, 2025 The “overuse” of personal guarantees in borrowing arrangements is holding businesses back and stifling UK growth, innovators have warned, with only a small minority of companies claiming they would borrow from banks with their personal savings or assets on the line. A new survey of some 1,400 small business owners by the Federation of Small [...]
Scottish Widows owner: Pension funds deal risks making UK like China July 7, 2025 Labour’s flagship deal with pension funds risks making the UK economy more like China, the boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned after its subsidiary Scottish Widows chose not to sign up to the agreement. Chancellor Rachel Reeves won the support of 17 pension funds which agreed to invest at least five per cent of [...]
Get ready for £30bn tax raid, City analysts warn July 5, 2025 Top City economists have warned welfare U-turns and President Trump’s damage to growth prospects will lead to tax hikes worth £30bn this autumn. Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested last year’s £40bn tax raid on businesses, homeowners and investors was a “once in a parliament reset” while Keir Starmer has suggested the UK could not “tax [its] [...]
Economists urge fiscal discipline after ‘rollercoaster’ week for bond market July 4, 2025 Economists have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to exercise fiscal discipline after a “rollercoaster” week in the bond market exposed the precarity of the government’s finances. Yields on 10-year gilts briefly rose more than 20 basis points, the highest intraday rise since the ill-fated Liz Truss minibudget in 2022, after Reeves appeared distraught in the [...]
How much tax do you pay above £100k? Britain’s highest earners in numbers July 4, 2025 A growing number of Brits have seen their salaries hit £100k – but a growing number are also feeling underwhelmed after having crossed the threshold. What accounts for their disappointment? There were as many as 1.35m taxpayers earning over £100,000 in the UK during the 2022/23 tax year, an increase of around 16 per cent [...]
Government has ‘lost track’ of illegal migrants working in the UK, MPs warn July 4, 2025 The UK government has lost track of the number of migrants who have overstayed visas and what happens to people who have had their sponsorship withdrawn, senior MPs have warned in a devastating blow to Labour’s bid to restore credibility with voters on migration. Keir Starmer’s government pledged to restore control over UK borders and [...]
