3 d. ago Will you be hit by another bills rise? Slew of town halls already planning inflation

In a fresh blow to hard-pressed families, a number of local authorities have already unveiled proposals to increase council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent for 2026/27.

Economics

6 d. ago Outrage as price of school meals goes up for thousands of families for the first time in nine years

FAMILIES and experts have been left outraged after the price of school meals was hiked for the first time in nine years. The latest price increases have been introduced across Northern Ireland in January, but families in England are also being hit as individual schools raise meal costs amid soaring food and staffing expenses. The...

Politics

8 d. ago China taxes condoms and cuts childcare costs to boost country's plummeting birth rate

Condoms and contraceptive pills will now be subject to a 13 per cent value-added tax, the standard rate applied to most consumer goods.

Economics

9 d. ago ‘No one can know’: Heated Rivalry’s gay love story exposes ice hockey’s culture of silence

The surprise hit series has reopened a familiar debate: why, in the National Hockey League, visibility is still treated as a problem rather than a possibilityAt around the midpoint of the first episode of Heated Rivalry, just after Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov – one Canadian, the other Russian, both hockey’s top prospects – have had their first tryst, Hollander sits at the side of his hotel bed and says: “So. You’re not going to tell anyone about this, are you?” Rozanov, lying naked beside him, replies sarcastically: “Me? Yes, Hollander, I’m going to tell everyone.” Hollander reinforces the point: “Because no one can know,” he says. Rozanov utters something under his breath in Russian, then: “Hollander. Look, I’m not going to tell anyone, OK?” Hollander replies: “OK.”No one can know. If hockey were to have an unofficial slogan, this might be it. Heated Rivalry, the surprise 2025 hit series from Crave and HBO, is layered drama, prompting timely questions about the barriers to acc...

Politics

3 w. ago No wonder they don't want us to vote! Grim figures show Rachel Reeves' raking in £5.5bn more tax in November BEFORE the Budget raid

Official figures showed central government receipts from tax and national insurance were up 7.3 per cent compared to November 2024.

Economics

3 w. ago What are the inheritance tax changes for farmers and why are they angry about it?

Labour’s plan ensures an inheritance tax of 20 per cent is imposed on farmers’ agricultural assets worth more than £1 million

Politics

3 w. ago Six councils granted power to raise council tax without needing to consult residents

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has estimated that Wandsworth and Westminster councils would need to hike council tax by as much as 75 per cent to balance the books in the wake of government reforms

Politics

3 w. ago Families could be hit with 40 per cent tax bill if they don't use one form

Thousands of people don’t realise their families could face an inheritance tax charge over the life insurance policies they’ve taken out

Economics

3 w. ago New call to increase Council Tax discount for people living on their own

People living on their own receive a 25 per cent discount on their annual Council Tax bill.

Politics

3 w. ago Morrisons loses £17mn VAT fight as court rules rotisserie chickens are hot food

High court rules product should be subject to the 20 per cent tax rate after 13-year case

Economics

3 w. ago City just do, Arsenal think: Inside the psychology of the Premier League title race

The latest Inside Football newsletter from Miguel Delaney looks at Arsenal’s creeping anxiety as Manchester City hit their familiar stride, why Mikel Arteta’s side are starting to feel the psychological weight of the title race, and how City’s businesslike momentum is beginning to shift the balance again

Sport

4 w. ago There’s such a sense of community, says Daisy May Cooper as she packs food hampers in support for our festive campaign

DRAPED in tinsel and beaming brightly, Daisy May Cooper greets “angel” volunteers busy preparing food parcels. The Bafta award-winning actress, and star of BBC’s hit sitcom This Country, joins them packing Christmas hampers for families in need this festive season. Daisy — who grew up in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, not far from Stroud District Foodbank — visited...

Politics