Booming Manchester outshines ‘stagnant’ London November 4, 2025 Greater Manchester’s booming economy is outstripping the rest of the country and throwing into sharp relief the “stagnant” state London has found itself in since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new report. As Chancellor Rachel Reeves sets out the productivity challenges facing the UK ahead of the Budget, new analysis from Oxford Economics [...]
Retail sales hit highest since 2022 in surprise boost for economy October 24, 2025 Retail sales jumped to their highest level since 2022 in September, boosted by sunny weather that drove a surge in demand for clothing. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed retail sales were 0.9 per cent higher than the previous three months. Sales volumes climbed 0.5 per cent in September, a significant boost from [...]
Nobel prize winners’ findings are a wake-up call for UK economy October 17, 2025 This year's Nobel Laureates in economics' warning that growth cannot be taken for granted must urge the UK to act, writes Ben Ramanauskas.
Can Liverpool really add £10bn to its economy? October 13, 2025 The Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region has unveiled a 10-year plan to create tens of thousands of jobs and add £10bn to the local economy. Steve Rotheram’s “bold and ambitious” plan has been described as a “roadmap” to increasing wages, driving investment, raising living standards and providing better services for the region’s 1.6m [...]
Why abolishing the share tax must be included in the Autumn Budget September 30, 2025 As the UK approaches another budget this Autumn, the country is still leaving significant growth capital off the table, maintaining the lowest retail investor engagement rate in the G7. From 1963 to 2022, retail participation plummeted from 54 per cent to 10.8 per cent and the proportion of UK households directly owning stocks has halved [...]
Natwest chair: Rachel Reeves’ Budget must include radical tax reform September 29, 2025 The chair of banking giant Natwest has called for Rachel Reeves to implement “radical tax reform” in her Autumn Budget. Rick Haythornthwaite has said a “bold long-term plan” to “kick-start growth” would reassure jittery bond markets and “deliver much-needed social benefits”. “This is the time for a 10-year programme of radical tax reform. Time for [...]
One in ten London homes would be hit by ‘mansion tax’ August 20, 2025 A tenth of houses in London would be hit by a ‘mansion tax’ on the sale of houses above £1.5m, according to new data. In London, 10.9 per cent of houses are worth over £1.9m, according to Rightmove, compared to just 1.6 per cent of houses outside the capital, with prices ballooning in the last [...]
Hotel billionaire launches shock bid to run Heathrow expansion July 31, 2025 The race to manage Heathrow’s multibillion-pound third runway expansion has been thrown wide open after a rival suitor confirmed it will submit a proposal to go up against an expected bid from the airport’s current operators. The Arora Group, a hotel chain with 13 hotels in transport hubs across London and the South East, confirmed [...]
UK economy contracts 0.1 per cent in blow to Rachel Reeves July 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ waning growth agenda has been dealt another blow after the UK economy contracted 0.1 per cent in May. The Chancellor has endured a bruising few weeks after government U-turns and spending splurges have cut into the fiscal headroom she outlined in the Autumn. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics have confirmed [...]
Labour’s National Wealth Fund a misnomer, MPs told June 18, 2025 Labour’s National Wealth Fund faced renewed calls for clarity on Wednesday as the Treasury Committee continued its inquiry into the government’s new body. The government’s rebrand of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) in October 2024 has raised questions amid confusion of the two bodies’ remits. Academics and think tank [...]