Former Home Secretary backs Phillipson for Labour deputy leader October 5, 2025 Former home secretary, Alan Johnson, has endorsed education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to become Labour’s next deputy leader, after warning that Powell could be divisive. Johnson suggested Phillipson’s rival, Lucy Powell, may not have entered the race had she not been sacked from the cabinet in last month’s major reshuffle, before warning she could “destabilise the [...]
Tories pledge creation of US-style deportations force October 5, 2025 The Tories will pledge to create a new “Removals Force” tasked with deporting 150,000 people a year as part of plans to end irregular migration into the UK. Tory plans announced on Sunday would see the Removals Force given £1.6 billion and “sweeping new powers” including the use of facial recognition without warning to spot [...]
Business chiefs would be ambassadors if Tories re-elected October 4, 2025 Business chiefs would be made ambassadors to represent the UK’s interests abroad if the Tories were re-elected into government. Leaders from the private sector would be part of a “cultural revolution towards commerce” under a Conservative government, according to shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel. In an article for the [...]
Rachel Reeves mulls hiring ‘outsider’ for banking watchdog role October 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking to hire a City heavyweight to succeed Sam Woods as the chief executive of the main banking watchdog once his term ends in the middle of next year, it has been reported. Sam Woods’ term as chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the watchdog which is part of [...]
Red Bull sales spike ahead of England ban October 3, 2025 Sales of Red Bull have spiked ahead of a planned new law in England to ban energy drinks being sold to under 16s. The giant has reported a UK revenue of £668.3m for 2024, up from the £594.1m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show that its pre-tax profit rose [...]
Why is the government making vapes harder to buy than cigarettes? October 3, 2025 Vaping remains the most effective tool to help smokers quit, so why is Labour trying to restrict access to vape shops, asks Andrej Kuttruf.
Frasers Group chairman urges Unite to avoid ‘reckless’ strike October 3, 2025 The chairman of retail giant Frasers Group has urged Unite the Union to avoid “reckless and irresponsible” strike action as retail firms across the UK feel the crunch of rising cost pressures. Sir Jonathan Thompson, who took the role of Chair in September, has asked the Union’s General Secretary Sharon Graham to reconsider plans to [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
OBR hands Rachel Reeves first damning pre-Budget report on UK economy October 3, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves its first evaluation of the state of the UK economy and crippled public finances, setting policy discussions about likely £30bn tax rises and possible savings in motion. The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, which consists of the economists Richard Hughes, David Miles and Tom Josephs, [...]
Bosses’ inflation expectations highest in two years amid employment freeze October 2, 2025 Fears that inflation will remain well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target intensified on Thursday, after a closely watched survey of businesses revealed bosses plan to raise prices at their fastest rate since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British businesses also have the weakest hiring intentions since 2020 with firms expecting [...]
