Majority of Labour MPs oppose Reeves’ fiscal rules June 2, 2025 Two thirds of Labour MPs oppose Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules, and twenty percent would prefer tax rises over spending cuts. Polling by Survation, shared with The Times, showed that 64 per cent of Labour MPs said Reeves’ rules inhibit ministers’ abilities to meet their objectives, including: raising living standards, improving public services, and combatting climate [...]
Starmer refuses to commit 3 per cent defence spending despite ‘battle-ready’ claim June 2, 2025 Keir Starmer has been criticised for failing to commit to increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP. The Prime Minister vowed to put in place the “largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War,” with a 2.5 per cent share of GDP going to defence. However, the PM maintained that hitting [...]
Reeves’ tax raids and tariff woes strain UK manufacturers June 2, 2025 British manufacturers continued to struggle in May, despite a surprise minor uptick, as tax hikes and tariffs weighed on firms. S&P Global’s latest PMI survey, which asks around 600 industrial companies about their performance, revealed manufacturers were still battling a tirade of challenges. The latest figure edged up to 46.4 in May, compared to 45.4 [...]
Andy Haldane: Reeves ‘not even close’ on growth after ‘rookie errors’ June 2, 2025 The Bank of England’s former Chief Economist has slammed Rachel Reeves’ first near-full year as Chancellor as “disappointing”, with the government “not even close to doing enough” on growth. Less than two weeks out from the 11 June spending review, Andy Haldane told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that there have been “mistakes, rookie errors” that have [...]
Monzo: Fintech unicorn tops £1bn in revenue on road to landmark IPO June 2, 2025 UK fintech giant Monzo reported its second consecutive year of profitability on Monday after the neobank’s revenue climbed above £1bn for the first time. The firm’s revenue increased 48 per cent to £1.2bn as it reported huge expansion across business arms amid rising expectations for a London flotation in the coming months. Customer deposits jumped [...]
Reform’s new crypto plan: politics ‘the driving force’ June 1, 2025 While Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was busy wooing the Bitcoin aficionados in Sin City, Las Vegas, party chairman Zia Yusuf faced the much less glamorous task of selling the UK media their new crypto plan. “This is not about turning the UK into some alt-coin scammers paradise,” Yusuf said. This follows the Reform party’s [...]
Spending review: Government poised to boost NHS and defence sector June 1, 2025 The government’s spending review is likely to focus on the UK’s health and defence sectors, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests. The spending review, which will be published on 11 June, will allocate departmental funding and budgets for the next three to four years. It has been the subject of speculation [...]
Natwest returns to private ownership May 30, 2025 Natwest has finally re-entered private ownership ending one of British banking’s longest-running sagas. The government sold off its remaining 0.26 per cent stake in the group on Friday marking a full exit from the lender. The Treasury’s share of the FTSE 100 lender dates back to the 2008 financial crisis. Natwest, then under the Royal [...]
UK-Gulf states trade deal on the horizon May 30, 2025 The UK is poised to sign a trade agreement with the Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to be worth as much as £1.6bn, with hopes that the value will rise by an additional £8.6bn a year [...]
Bank of England rate-setter calls for interest rate cut May 30, 2025 A top Bank of England rate-setter has dismissed the latest spike in inflation and doubled down on calls for further interest rate cuts. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Alan Taylor said the fresh inflation surge was driven by “one-off factors” related to President Donald Trump’s trade war. Whilst he said recent trade progress, with the [...]
