The government’s borrowing bill was lower than expected last month as falling inflation and bumper tax revenues helped improve public finances. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that monthly public sector borrowing in August was £11.6 billion, below the £13 billion forecast by the government’s fiscal watchdog and just above the £11.1 billion […]
Watford is to become the unlikely new home for Batman and Superman after Warner Bros confirmed that it is to go ahead with a huge expansion of its Leavesden film studios. The addition of ten new sound stages and 400,000 sq ft of production and support space will increase the filming capacity of the studios, […]
Insiders have revealed that the HS2 Phase Two project, the high-speed rail line from Birmingham to Manchester, is expected to be cancelled. The announcement could be made as early as next week, marking a significant shift in the UK’s infrastructure plans. The HS2 project, initially intended to link London, the Midlands, and the North of […]
The Bank of England has left its interest rate unchanged at 5.25%, a day after inflation unexpectedly fell by more than expected. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 5-4 – the narrowest possible margin – to leave the cost of borrowing unchanged. Up until the inflation data was released on Wednesday morning, markets had […]
Almost 2,000 more British independent stores were left empty in the first half of this year, as small businesses struggled to cope with rising inflation and the cost of living crisis. The biggest rise in vacancies in at least eight years marks a reversal in fortunes for independent outlets after two years of growth. Small […]
The Confederation of British Industry, one of the UK’s largest business lobby groups, has shelved plans for a tie-up with manufacturing body Make UK, telling members it was “confident” an alternative emergency cash rescue would be found. A call with the CBI president, Brian McBride, and its director general, Rain Newton-Smith, on Wednesday replaced its […]
Rishi Sunak has outlined a series of measures to water down the government’s climate change commitments claiming that politicians had not been “honest with the public” about the cost of net zero. In a press conference in Downing Street he said that the present approach would “impose unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families” and risked […]
Delaying a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars could put drivers off switching to electric, the boss of the UK’s motoring industry body has warned. Ministers are understood to be considering pushing back a planned ban from 2030 to 2035. Mike Hawes, of the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders, said the […]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is in talks to sell its Missguided clothing brand to online fashion giant Shein. Talks about a deal, which were first reported by Sky News, come only a year after Frasers took over the brand. Frasers Group bought Missguided for £20m last year after the online fashion retailer collapsed into administration. […]
The UK Government has today announced that every Postmaster who was wrongfully convicted and has had their conviction overturned as it was reliant on Horizon evidence will be offered an optional sum of up to £600,000 in compensation. All reasonable legal fees will continue to be covered and any Postmaster who does not want to […]