KPMG scraps summer early Friday finish for staff Big Four Big Four giant KPMG is revoking its Covid-19 employee benefit of letting staff clock off early on Fridays over the summer in the latest cut at the firm. The firm introduced the policy in 2021, focused on the summer, which is a quieter time in the City, to allow staff to take two and a [...]
Dollar slides as ‘loss of confidence’ in US policy spikes debasement fears Economics The US dollar had its worst day since President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff onslaught on Tuesday as investors dumped their exposure to the greenback. The DXY index – which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies – has slumped over two per cent since the beginning of the year. Amidst the dollar [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund Economics The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
Save billions by reforming ‘unsustainable’ public sector pensions January 26, 2026 Moving new public sector employees onto defined contribution (DC) pension schemes could save taxpayers £37bn a year in the long run, a new report has found. The report, produced by Policy Exchange, argues that moving public sector workers onto a DC scheme would also send an “important signal” to the bond market that the government [...]
Does Reform have any policies? September 8, 2025 A new format for its conference suggests Reform is thinking seriously about policy, not just personality, says Emma Revell It’s not uncommon for me to spend a September day on a crowded train full of awkward-looking men in suits (and occasionally some women too). But last Friday’s journey was a little different. Instead of heading [...]
How the Conservatives can become the party of millennials like me August 7, 2025 Millennials make up the largest age cohort in many of the areas where the Conservatives need to shore up support. To win us back the Tories need answers on the cost of living, housing and tax, says Jamila Robertson Millennials are often given a hard rap – scoffed at as snowflakes by Boomers, and as [...]
Westminster’s Everythingism problem: Why trying to solve everything all at once has ruined politics April 10, 2025 The belief that every policy can be used to deliver every other policy is rife in Westminster, and it's costing us real progress, writes Joe Hill.
Kemi Badenoch: Net Zero by 2050 is “impossible” March 18, 2025 Kemi Badenoch is set to launch a party “policy renewal” process starting with net zero and energy as she is expected to claim net zero by 2050 is “impossible”. The Conservative leader will say her party would “confront the real problems” but that she is not making a “moral judgement” on net zero or debating [...]
Ban on new leasehold flats ‘doesn’t go far enough’ March 3, 2025 The government’s newly released whitepaper promises to ban the sale of new leasehold flats, but campaigners say the policy will not provide enough relief for current leaseholders. Labour said the plans mark the start of commonhold, rather than leasehold, being the “default tenure” in the UK. “These reforms mark the beginning of the end for [...]
Plan to restrict employers from contacting staff out of hours ‘backed by public’ September 21, 2024 Most people support the Government’s plans to restrict employers from contacting staff outside working hours, new research suggests. Only 17 per cent of 2,000 adults surveyed opposed the move. The polling by Survation, commissioned by think tank the Autonomy Institute, showed that support was highest in the South East. Autonomy called on the Government to [...]