4 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of my autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor says ‘investment and reform are our tools’ as she pushes back against mounting tax speculationRachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Boosting productivity will be main priority of autumn budget, Reeves says

Exclusive: Chancellor focuses on investment and planning rules as she dismisses talk of tax rises as ‘speculation’Rachel Reeves: Labour has fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed BritainRachel Reeves has promised to use her autumn budget to prioritise fixing Britain’s dismal record on productivity as she sought to downplay mounting tax speculation with a focus on economic growth.Setting out her priorities for the budget for the first time, the chancellor said tackling the efficiency of the economy through higher investment and a fresh assault on planning rules would form the backbone of her tax and spending plans. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Major inheritance tax change talks as Sky News host grills minister on plan

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly exploring changes to inheritance tax - such as tightening the rules around gifting - as she battles to plug a hole in the public finances

Politics

14 h. ago Keir Starmer ‘plans rise in inheritance tax’ to ease debt crisis

Critics see inheritance tax, charged on estates valued at more than £325,000, as being a wealth tax in all but name

Economics

6 d. ago Welsh council to hire new officer and pay them £100,000 salary

Pembrokeshire Council is to recruit for a new senior officer, a post which commands a salary of up to £101,000

Economics

6 d. ago Wealthier areas set to pay more council tax under new plans: Will you be affected?

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is mulling an overhaul of the council tax system to allocate more money to deprived areas.

Economics

6 d. ago Millions of households will be hit with council tax hikes to pay for Angela Rayner's Government funding reforms

Households in wealthy areas could be hit with huge council tax rises under Angela Rayner's plans to divert more funding to deprived regions, experts warned last night.

Economics

3 w. ago South London borough backs tourist tax plan to raise millions

Southwark Council is considering implementing a tourist tax on visitors entering the borough

Economics

4 w. ago UK tenants left livid after being told they're banned from using washing lines

'If the council are going to pay for me to use my dryer, then by all means'

Events

4 w. ago HMRC does not know how many billionaires pay tax in UK – report

The Public Accounts Committee is calling for HMRC to publish its plan for increasing tax yield from wealthy taxpayers domestically and offshore.

Economics

4 w. ago Starmer's Chagos 'surrender' deal helps Mauritius top destination list for global super

The tiny Indian Ocean nation is tied with Monaco at the head of Nomad Capitalist's  Freedom Index 2025 after announcing plans to abolish income tax for most workers.

Economics

4 w. ago Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake – live

Dataset containing details of thousands of Afghans who applied for relocation to UK released ‘in error’ in 2022Helen Miller is taking over as director of the Insitute for Fiscal Studies thinktank this week, taking over from Paul Johnson, who established himself as the nation’s leading budget commentator.Budget commentary tends to focus on the Treasury’s fiscal rules, on how much “headroom” is available to Rachel Reeves (spare cash in the budget – based on spending plans and anticipated tax revenue, based on the OBR’s growth assumptions), and whether tax or spending plans need to change because the OBR’s forecasts have shifted.Labour came to office with the promise of a ‘mission-driven’ government – a commitment to long-term thinking and systemic reform. The ambition that we should be ‘raising our sights as a nation’ and finding ways to tackle the big challenges we face is the right one.Despite this, we continue to limp from fiscal event to fiscal event, obsessed with whether run of ...

Society

last month Rachel Reeves makes bold promise on tax rises and vows not to repeat last Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted ordinary workers won't be clobbered by higher taxes - and she has no plans for another mega tax-raising Budget

Economics

last month Public consultation launched on plans to introduce 'tourist tax' in Stirling

The draft Stirling Visitor Levy scheme, known as the 'tourist tax' has opened for public consultation and would see visitors hit with an additional charge on overnight accommodation.

Politics

last month Treasury minister says ‘headline’ rate of income tax won’t go up, in hint thresholds might be frozen in budget – UK politics live

Darren Jones also declines to rule out wealth tax when questioned about government plansRecord-breaking extreme weather is the new norm in the UK, a report by the Met Office says. Damian Carrington has the story.Here is the Met Office summary. And here is the full report.The number of days with temperatures 5°C above the 1961-1990 average has doubled for the most recent decade 2015-2024 compared to 1961-1990. For 8°C above average the number has trebled and for 10°C it has quadrupled. This shows how the hottest days we experience in the UK have increased in frequency dramatically in just a few decades. Continue reading...

Politics