2 h. ago Sir Keir Starmer refuses to rule out income tax rise in Spring Statement

The Prime Minister remained tight-lipped on a commitment not to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds ahead of next week's announcement by the Chancellor

Politics

5 h. ago New freeze on income tax thresholds in 'emergency Budget' not ruled out by Keir Starmer

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch challenged the PM on tax ahead of next week’s Spring Statement

Economics

5 h. ago UK politics live: Badenoch hits Starmer with ‘emergency budget’ jab about upcoming spring statement

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver a spring statement next week

Politics

5 h. ago PM dodges over ANOTHER stealth tax raid on Brits as Labour struggles to balance books amid stalling economy

Keir Starmer dodged giving a commitment against extending the freeze on thresholds beyond 2028 as he was challenged at PMQs.

Economics

6 h. ago PMQs live: Badenoch hits Starmer with ‘emergency budget’ jab about upcoming spring statement

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver a spring statement next week

Events

6 h. ago PMQs live: Kemi Badenoch challenges Keir Starmer over taxes and ‘emergency budget’ before next week’s spring statement

Prime minister takes questions in Commons after decision to slash disability paymentsLast night, to back up its analysis of the disability cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies published two charts illustrating aspects of the changes.This one shows how the £5bn cuts announced yesterday compare in scale to previous benefit cuts, listed here in order of how big they were, in current prices. Continue reading...

Economics

8 h. ago Where else will the axe fall as the economy stalls? Rachel Reeves 'must still slash £10bn from spending' in Spring Statement next week despite Labour uproar at crackdown on benefits

Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement next Wednesday had originally been billed as a low-key update, after she vowed only to hold one Budget a year.

Economics

21 h. ago Reeves to squeeze public spending further in Spring Statement

Billions of pounds of savings sought from Whitehall budgets to fill a hole in the public finances

Politics

47 h. ago Hairdressers call for tax reform in ‘save our salons’ Westminster protest

The British Hair Consortium wants VAT on labour costs to be cut from 20% to 10% in the Spring Statement.

Events

50 h. ago Campaign to raise personal tax allowance from £12,570 to £20,000 in Budget backed by 84,000 people

The Spring Statement is set to be delivered on March 23 and campaigners are urging the Chancellor to increase the tax threshold for state pensions in the upcoming Budget

Economics

56 h. ago OECD cuts UK growth forecasts as Reeves grapples with weak economy

Downgrade comes ahead of Spring Statement, when official forecasts are expected to show much weaker GDP outlook

Politics

56 h. ago Brits demand personal tax allowance raise from £12,570 to £20,000 as petition hits 190k

A campaign urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise the tax threshold for state pensions in this year's Spring Statement has been signed by 190,000 people

Economics

66 h. ago Stalling growth leaves Rachel Reeves facing a £4.4billion black hole ahead of her Spring Statement 

Britain's darkening growth outlook means that the £9.9billion 'headroom' left by the Budget in October has been more than wiped out, the Resolution Foundation think-tank said.

Economics

3 d. ago Update on calls to increase personal tax allowance from £12,570 to £20,000 as backing soars

A petition has racked up more than 85,000 signatures as pressure grows on Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the Spring Statement

Economics

5 d. ago UK economy shrinks in January; stocks and euro jump on German debt deal – as it happened

UK economy unexpectedly contracts by 0.1% in January in blow to the chancellor ahead of spring statement; Friedrich Merz declares: ‘Germany is back’Let’s look at the GDP figures in more detail.The 0.9% drop in production output in January, which came after 0.5% growth in December, was mainly caused by a 1.1% slump in manufacturing while mining and quarrying also declined. Basic metals and metal products were down along with pharmaceutical products. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago UK economy shrinks in January; stocks and euro jump on German debt deal – business live

UK economy unexpectedly contracts by 0.1% in January in blow to the chancellor ahead of spring statement; Friedrich Merz declares: ‘Germany is back’Let’s look at the GDP figures in more detail.The 0.9% drop in production output in January, which came after 0.5% growth in December, was mainly caused by a 1.1% slump in manufacturing while mining and quarrying also declined. Basic metals and metal products were down along with pharmaceutical products. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago What is a recession? UK sees 0.1% fall in GDP ahead of Rachel Reeves' spring statement

Recession fears loom as the UK economy unexpectedly shrank at the beginning of the year

Politics

5 d. ago New calls to ‘stop taxing the State Pension’ ahead of Spring Statement

More than 81,000 people have signed an online petition urging Chancellor Reeves to raise the £12,570 Personal Allowance for pensioners.

Economics

5 d. ago Shrinking economy offers unhelpful backdrop for Rachel Reeves’s growth push

GDP goes in wrong direction as chancellor puts final touches to fiscal plansUK economy shrinks unexpectedly in blow to ReevesFor a government that has made growth its overriding mission, the 0.1% decline in GDP in January signalled by the Office for National Statistics will be depressing news.As Rachel Reeves prepares to announce her spring statement on 26 March, the economy appears to be going in the wrong direction – underlining the fact that the Office for Budget Responsibility is likely to have presented her with notably weaker forecasts than in October. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Chancellor ‘determined to turn around’ economy amid surprise fall in GDP

Figures revealed a surprise contraction in the economy in January, in a blow to Rachel Reeves ahead of her spring statement.

Politics