Israel-Iran conflict to dominate G7 meeting as Starmer calls for restraint June 16, 2025 The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to be high on the agenda as world leaders gather in Canada on Monday. Sir Keir Starmer said that the G7 meeting in Alberta would provide an opportunity for allies to make the case for de-escalation in the “fast moving” situation in the Middle East, with President Trump [...]
‘You’ll have to wait and see’: Reeves’ deputy can’t rule out autumn tax rises June 15, 2025 Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones refused to rule out further tax hikes in the autumn budget on Sunday. Asked on GB News whether he would rule out tax rises later this year, Jones said “that will be subject to the OBR forecasts… it’s right that we take these types of decision in an orderly way.” [...]
Private school VAT campaigners lose court challenge June 13, 2025 A group of families with children at private schools have lost their High Court battle over the government’s decision to apply VAT on school fees, with a judge ruling it did not sufficiently infringe on pupils’ human rights. Campaigners had brought legal action against the Treasury, arguing that the change to private schools’ tax status [...]
UK firms dodge Labour tax raid with WFH roles abroad June 13, 2025 UK companies are turning to work-from-home (WFH) South Africans and other workers in East Asia in a cost-cutting drive to dodge Rachel Reeves’ £20bn tax raid on employers and stringent workers’ rights. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken about his determination to “put working people’s priorities first” while welfare cuts have been made to [...]
Spending Review: IFS chief suggests Treasury ‘making up numbers’ over DOGE-style Whitehall cuts June 12, 2025 The Ministry of Defence and Department for Health and Social Care are slated to see billions cut in Whitehall budgets in what a DOGE-style body within the Treasury described as “efficiency gains” – despite both departments set to see a real terms increase in spending between 2026 and 2029. A new government document has revealed [...]
Winter fuel payments to return for 9m pensioners in £1.3bn Labour u-turn June 9, 2025 The winter fuel payment will be handed out to 9m pensioners whose income falls below £35,000 a year, the Treasury has revealed, in a £1.25bn blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ chances of keeping her £9.9bn headroom intact.
Brits sound alarm on branch closures as Lloyds and Natwest shutter sites June 9, 2025 Over half of Brits struggle to speak to a real person when they need support, fresh research shows, underscoring the challenge facing banking customers as more top lenders shutter their branches. Research from credit information service CRIF showed six in ten consumers were unable to get the support required due to bank branch closures. This [...]
Spending Review: Biggest winners and losers in transport and infrastructure June 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to unveil billions of pounds of investment this week in the spending review, as she looks to fend off criticism over recent cuts. This has made transport and infrastructure one of the big winners of Wednesday’s official announcement. Some £15bn has already been earmarked for public transport projects outside London in [...]
A Wise storm has rocked the London Stock Exchange’s fintech dream June 6, 2025 Hopes of a fintech-powered City markets revival may have been crushed on Thursday after money transfer firm Wise ditched its primary listing. The embattled London Stock Exchange was dealt its latest blow as the UK fintech opted for a dual listing across the Atlantic but with the US acting as its primary base. It’s no [...]
Has Klarna’s buy now, pay later bubble burst? June 6, 2025 Buy now, pay later services have exploded in the last decade and industry titan Klarna has spearheaded growth. The global BNPL market is expected to top $560.1bn (£412.8bn) in 2025 with 13.7 per cent annual growth. Swedish fintech Klarna has historically dominated the space, notching a net operating income of $1.087bn in 2020. The firm [...]