New £500m university science grant can ‘commercialise discoveries’ November 13, 2024 The government has announced it will stump up £500m for 4,700 post-graduate engineering and science university places in a bid to drive long-term economic growth. Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle made the announcement today, with universities and industry set to reap the benefits. The scheme will fund 4,700 new places, equating to around £106,000 [...]
Strong governments must be prepared to upset the markets (a bit) November 12, 2024 The bond markets are a potent opposition, but governments must be prepared to take risks if they are ever to reap rewards, says Charles White-Thomson With a large majority and an election years away, the Prime Minister and Chancellor likely don’t feel the need to worry too much about what the electorate think. But one [...]
Employer National Insurance hike a ‘significant burden’ and will impact working people, warns Thwaites November 12, 2024 The hike in employer National Insurance contribution (NICs), which was revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Budget, will place a “significant burden” on historic brewer, pub and hotel owner, Daniel Thwaites, the company has said. The Lancashire-headquartered group added that the increase, together with the rise in the National Living Wage, “make it less [...]
Business groups warn of jobs market slowdown following Budget November 12, 2024 Alexandra Hall-Chen, principal policy adviser for employment at the Institute for Directors (IoD) said the figures point to a "concerning trend" in the labour market.
Vodafone boss shrugs off Budget as company set to double-down on UK November 12, 2024 The boss of the FTSE 100 telecoms giant Vodafone has shrugged off suggestions Labour’s tax-raising Budget will have an impact on the business. Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle estimated the Budget’s total cost to Vodafone at around £10m in a call with investors and analysts following its half-year results, published this morning. “In the [...]
US election shows voters care more about inflation than growth November 12, 2024 Donald Trump's re-election as President has raised fundamental questions for Labour's economic and political agenda, writes Chris Dorrell
What Canada wants from Reeves’s Mansion House speech November 12, 2024 Treasury officials have been hitting the phones to City firms over the past two weeks as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the government’s annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector. The backdrop is a fractious one for the Chancellor. While the Labour party built cordial ties with the Square Mile in the run [...]
Labour will be thinking global, but their fortunes depend on the local November 12, 2024 Labour strategists will be focused on what Trump’s victory means for Britain and the world, but the government will soon face big challenges at the local level, says James Nation Following on from the US election result, takes abound on what Trump 2.0 means for the world and for the UK. On the economy, there [...]
Ministers either don’t understand private sector, or don’t care November 11, 2024 No politician could actually get away with telling businesses to “suck it up” when they warn about the impact of tax rises, though Labour’s Darren Jones came dangerously close yesterday, airily telling the BBC that bigger businesses can handle higher costs. While it’s true that they’ll find a way to pay these new taxes and [...]
Business Budget backlash builds as hospitality giants write to Chancellor November 11, 2024 The government is under increasing pressure to revisit its hikes to employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage after a number of the UK’s largest employers voiced concerns about the impact of the changes on their costs and operations. Over 200 of the UK’s biggest hospitality businesses signed a letter to the Chancellor yesterday [...]
