UK faces ‘make or break moment’ in Budget as Swinney calls for spending October 20, 2024 Scotland’s First Minister will use a speech on Monday to urge the Chancellor to increase spending, as he said the Budget presents a “make or break moment” for the UK. Rachel Reeves will present the new Labour Government’s tax and spending plans on October 30, as she seeks to close a £40bn gap in the [...]
Reeves to hike tax on UK founders looking to sell October 19, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly plotting to hike taxes for entrepreneurs selling their businesses as part of her strategy to plug a £40bn fiscal “black hole”. In her upcoming Budget, Reeves is considering cutting a policy known as the business asset disposal relief, according to Bloomberg. The tax relief currently allows entrepreneurs to pay a [...]
UK needs ‘more diplomacy’ with China, says Lammy October 19, 2024 The UK approach to China needs “more diplomacy, not less”, the Foreign Secretary has said on his first official visit to the country. David Lammy said the Government would bring “consistency” to relations with China, adding there had not been “sufficient contact” between London and Beijing under his predecessors, particularly on human rights issues. His [...]
St James’s Place: Analysts back UK’s largest wealth manager October 18, 2024 By the end of the quarter, funds under management had swelled to £184.4bn, up from £181.9bn the quarter before and also ahead of consensus.
Retail sales rise unexpectedly despite Budget tax fears October 18, 2024 Retail sales came in ahead of expectations.
‘Build baby build’: Break infrastructure ‘inertia’ to boost growth, report urges October 18, 2024 Ministers have been urged to break Britain’s infrastructure “inertia” in a bid to turbocharge the planning system and ramp up growth, according to a think tank report. Streamlining the consent process, empowering key decisions in the national interest, fixing ambiguous laws, and updating policy documents would all contribute to the UK’s ability to build infrastructure [...]
Landlords urge Reeves to offer Budget tax breaks amid ‘market uncertainty’ October 17, 2024 Private landlords groups have written to Rachel Reeves to urge the government to offer tax breaks amid “market uncertainty” ahead of the Budget. In a letter to the Chancellor prior to the 30 October fiscal statement, representative bodies including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said their members face “uncertainty on a number of fronts” [...]
Ministers to speed up energy ‘skills passport’ amid worker shortages October 17, 2024 The energy secretary will speed up oil and gas workers being able to transition to jobs in the renewable energy industry via a “skills passport” as workforce shortages are “hindering” the sector. Energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband confirmed his department will “provide project management advice” to Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable [...]
Legal & General-backed London data centre finally gets planning approval October 16, 2024 Local government ministers have unanimously approved planning proposals for what is set to be one of London’s largest data centres. The £750m development in the Newham borough of London is joint-funded by asset management firm Legal and General (L&G) and digital infrastructure investor Goldacre. It will be able to deliver from 77 up to 90 megawatts of [...]
When it comes to national insurance, the government is pulling a fast one October 16, 2024 One of the many problems the government has got itself into over tax rises that may or may not appear in the upcoming Budget is an oversimplification of where the cost of a certain tax falls. Ministers and their supporters talk about Capital Gains Tax as if it only lands on rich people selling off [...]
