Blair think tank turns fire on Labour over wage hikes and tax squeeze March 1, 2026 Tony Blair’s think tank has published a critique of Labour’s economic strategy, warning that higher minimum wages, rising employers’ National Insurance and tougher workers’ rights risk choking off growth and pricing young people out of jobs. In a striking intervention from the former Labour prime minister’s own policy institute, the report deems the government’s labour [...]
Sunak pushes deregulation as North Sea pressure grows March 1, 2026 Rishi Sunak has urged Rachel Reeves to go further and faster on deregulation to revive growth, as eight former UK energy ministers call on the government to rethink its stance on North Sea oil and gas. The former prime minister wrote in a Sunday Times column that Reeves deserved credit for delivering a Spring Statement [...]
Top Barclays executive to take the helm at UK banking watchdog February 27, 2026 A senior Barclays executive and former Treasury official has been appointed as the chief supervisor for British banks and insurers, reinforcing the government’s drive to ease regulations brought in after the 2008 financial crisis. Katharine Braddick, head of strategic policy at Barclays and senior adviser to the chief executive, will succeed Sam Woods as the [...]
Labour accused of ignoring rental housing February 27, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned she must “take sharp notice” of the collapse of John Lewis’ housing venture by investing immediately in the build-to-rent sector. The Association for Rental Living (ARL), the body which represents the build-to-rent sector, has sent an open letter to senior Labour figures calling on the government to develop a [...]
‘Quiet revolution’ – Rathbones shares rise along with CEO’s ambition February 27, 2026 FTSE 250 company Rathbones saw its share price soar in early morning trading as it announced it was aspiring to become the “best wealth manager in the UK by far”. Shares rose 9.05 per cent to 2,410 pence, gaining 24.6 per cent this year to date. Profit before tax jumped 53.5 per cent to £152.9m, [...]
Nearly 1m young Brits not in work as Reeves told to help youth February 26, 2026 The number of Neets, or young people not in education, employment or training, has increased to nearly 1m, official data has indicated, heightening fears over the long-term health of the UK economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested there were 957,000 people aged between 16 and 24 not working as of December in [...]
Watch: Spotlight turns on Reeves – and the state of our economy February 26, 2026 We haven’t heard much from Rachel Reeves so far this year – probably a deliberate strategy – but is the Chancellor set to make waves next week at the Spring Statement? Rachel Reeves didn’t have a great 2025. UK quarterly GDP growth peaked in Q1 at 0.7 per cent as firms front-loaded their activity to [...]
Brits push down house prices to dodge mansion tax February 26, 2026 House sellers are already pushing sale values below £2m in a bid to avoid the coming “mansion tax” on expensive homes. The high-value council tax surcharge (HVCTS) is not due to be implemented until April 2028 but estate agents Hamptons have found Brits are already taking steps to avoid the levy. The “mansion tax” charge [...]
It’s a sad story from brewery to pub February 26, 2026 It was a balmy 17 degrees in the Square Mile yesterday, drawing crowds out for a lunchtime pint in the sun. But in other parts of the country the hospitality sector is still in the grip of winter. Bad news came thick and fast from my native Cornwall yesterday, starting with confirmation that Sharp’s Brewery [...]
Why Rachel Reeves’ low-key Spring Statement still matters February 26, 2026 This is the Spring Statement that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has long been waiting for in opposition: a moment of sheer insignificance. In May 2023, six months after the mini-budget debacle, Reeves offered a speech in opposition to Washington DC’s top independent think tank, the Peterson Institute, exalting her core economics philosophy of ‘securonomics’. She summarised [...]
