Reeves broke “promises” on farmer inheritance tax reforms, court hears March 17, 2026 Rachel Reeves “broke promises” when she failed to consult over changes to inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs in her first Autumn Budget, a court has heard. The Chancellor’s proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) represent one of the biggest shifts in IHT policy in decades. In the 2024 Autumn Budget, [...]
Reform UK pledge energy tax cut in swipe at Labour March 17, 2026 Robert Jenrick has said Reform UK would strip VAT from energy bills months after the government flirted with the £2bn tax cut, deepening the party’s row with Labour. The “shadow chancellor” said Reform would strip VAT and green levies from household energy bills if it came to power, thereby saving households an estimated £200. Party [...]
Bank of England ‘should wait’ before cutting interest rates, City PM Shadow MPC says March 17, 2026 The Bank of England should “wait and see” how long the war in Iran goes on for before cutting interest rates again, leading economists on City PM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee have said. The crisis in the Middle East has pushed up energy prices and heightened fears that the UK economy is heading for a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Gas prices surge after drone attacks March 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City PM liveblog. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 per cent yesterday, settling at 10,317.69p led by a three per cent jump in Endeavour Mining. It came as global markets were brought some reprieve from declining oil prices. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil [...]
Today’s the day we finally get to hear the Chancellor’s plans for growth March 17, 2026 GDP growth in November was 0.2 per cent. It slipped to 0.1 per cent in December and we now know that by the end of January it had withered to zero. The British economy recorded no growth in the first month of this year. It was only a monthly reading and it may be revised [...]
Reeves vows UK will ‘beat G7 at AI adoption’ as she searches for growth agenda March 16, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will promise that the UK will beat G7 counterparts in adopting AI over the coming years with fresh investment set to focus on quantum computing and researchers specialising in healthcare, clean energy and national security. In a speech on Tuesday afternoon, Reeves is expected to set out the government’s AI ambitions to [...]
‘More needs to be done’ to help pension savers after salary sacrifice, says Standard life boss March 16, 2026 The boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has warned “more needs to be done” to help those saving for retirement after the government introduced a cap on salary sacrifice in the latest Budget. Andy Briggs, the chief executive of Standard Life, told City PM: “Obviously, we weren’t supportive of [salary sacrifice changes] [...]
Labour’s inheritance tax reforms face legal test as farmers argue unlawful consultation March 16, 2026 The UK government is set to defend its inheritance tax raid on agricultural assets and family firms in the High Court this week. The proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) represent one of the biggest shifts in UK inheritance tax (IHT) policy in decades. After a year of protests [...]
Starmer: ‘Viable plan’ needed for Trump’s Strait of Hormuz request March 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he is still in discussions to draw up a “viable, collective plan” with European allies in response to President Trump’s call for help in the Strait of Hormuz. In a press conference on Monday, the Prime Minister insisted that the country would “not be drawn into the wider war” in [...]
Government overhauls FOS to curb ‘quasi-regulator’ role March 16, 2026 The government has announced the most significant overhaul of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) since its inception. Following a public consultation held last year that sought views on how to address concerns, it was found that in a small but significant minority of cases, the FOS has acted as a ‘quasi-regulator’. As part of the [...]
