These two mistakes are making today’s Budget harder than it needs to be October 30, 2024 The problem with Rachel Reeves promising both ‘stability’ and ‘growth’ is that the two can be mutually exclusive. Governments do not create growth; businesses do and they rely on innovation and risk taking, says Alys Denby Not since George Osborne’s ‘caesar’ cut has a Chancellor’s hair-do caused such a sensation. Did Rachel Reeves’ newly auburn [...]
How will the bond markets react to the Budget? October 30, 2024 For all the government’s promises of stability and hoped-for reductions in interest rates, UK yields on government bonds are now, in fact, very similar to the levels to which they rose under the ill-fated Truss government, says Paul Ormerod There has been a huge amount of speculation about the Budget. Later today we will of [...]
Budget 2024: No10 claim Hunt trying to ‘blame referee’ as OBR row heats up October 29, 2024 Jeremy Hunt is trying to “blame the referee” amid a row over an OBR review into the previous government’s departmental spending plans, No10 has claimed. The former Chancellor has criticised the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for choosing to publish its findings as to whether it was given adequate financial information from Conservative ministers ahead [...]
First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under rumored Budget change October 28, 2024 First-time buyers could see huge tax hit under changes rumored to be included in the Autumn budget. It has been rumoured that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will rule out any changes to stamp duty land tax in the Budget. Stamp duty land tax currently applies to homes costing over £250,000, but in March [...]
Keir Starmer: ‘I will defend our tough decisions all day long’ October 28, 2024 Speaking in Birmingham ahead of the Budget, the Prime Minister said politicians needed to be honest with the public about the difficult decisions facing the government.
Reeves fiscal rule change puts economy in danger of ‘crumbling’, City analyst warns October 28, 2024 "Tinkering with the definition of borrowing could be a big, if temporary, win," Nick Winters, a partner at Blick Rothenburg said.
Budget: Labour grandee warns pension tax hike rumours are ‘very worrying’ October 25, 2024 Rumours over a hike in employer national insurance contributions on pensions in next week’s Budget have been described as “very worrying” by Labour grandee David Blunkett. Blunkett, who served in Tony Blair’s cabinet as home secretary and secretary of state for work and pensions, said he would “advise strongly against” the changes in a letter [...]
New data bill to loosen red tape for businesses and NHS October 24, 2024 The UK government has introduced a new data bill to parliament to cut red tape for businesses and public service organisations like the NHS, which it claims could add £10bn to the economy over the next decade. The ‘Data Use and Access’ bill plans to make data sharing easier, reducing admin headaches for companies. For [...]
Rachel Reeves gives clear signal that public investment will increase October 24, 2024 "Our upcoming Budget will be a reset for our economy as we invest in the foundations of future growth," she will say at the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest annual meeting.
Does the NHS have a communications crisis? October 23, 2024 The NHS has a backlog crisis a staff vacancy crisis and a mental health crisis. Public satisfaction is at an all-time low, and Lord Darzi’s landmark report of the state of the health found that it was in “serious trouble”. But does it boil down to a comms crisis? Jacob Haddad, CEO and co-founder of [...]