Economy, Interest Rates & Government Policy News

Brexit, Budget announcements, Bank of England rate decisions, GDP/growth, employment, wages and tax policy.

Brexit Could Cause Gaps on Retailer’s Shelves

By Michael Quinn | Published: 12.09.2017

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) have issued a warning to the government in a new report that Brexit could lead to shortages of certain types of food if problems surrounding new customs processes...

Theresa May Calls Snap General Election

By Danny Lord | Published: 18.04.2017

Prime Minister Theresa May has called for a general election to be held on 8th June, hoping to put to bed questions of leadership as Brexit negotiations commence. Shortly after she came into power,...

MPs Criticise Rise in Probate Fees as ‘Death Tax’

By Danny Lord | Published: 13.03.2017

The impending and, in some cases, massive rise in probate costs has drawn staunch criticism from backbench MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg, who condemned what he sees as a “stealth tax”. From May 1st,...

Hammond’s Budget Aims to Equalise Employment Market

By Danny Lord | Published: 08.03.2017

Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first and last Spring budget was relatively uneventful, as promised, with some of the main announcements concerning business rate relief and NICS for the self employed, as...

Hammond’s First & Last Spring Budget Set to be a Cautious One

By Danny Lord | Published: 06.03.2017

Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to exercise some caution despite recent positive changes to economic forecasts as his first and last Spring Budget announcement approaches. Reports of positive...

IFS Predict Historically Slow Income Growth in Coming Years

By Danny Lord | Published: 03.03.2017

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has published a report showing that living standards, particularly among lower-income families, will continue to suffer under the “long shadow cast by the financial...

Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall as Wages Creep Upwards

By Danny Lord | Published: 18.01.2017

The latest figures from the ONS show that the UK labour market remained resilient as last year drew to a close, with positive figures being recorded more or less across the board in November. Most of...

UK Services Sector Shows Strong Growth for December

By Danny Lord | Published: 05.01.2017

The latest Markit/CIPS PMI report showed that the UK economy ended 2016 on a high, with the services sector joining manufacturing and construction in growing sharply during December. According to the...

Labour Market Shows Signs of ‘Flattening’ Despite Slight Drop in Unemployment

By Danny Lord | Published: 15.12.2016

The number of unemployed people in the UK fell slightly in the three months to October this year, but so did the number of people in work, the ONS reported. There were a total of 1.62 unemployed...

IFS Offers Damning Forecast for UK Wage Growth & Living Standards

By Danny Lord | Published: 25.11.2016

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has published a response to Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement, and has described this decade as the worst in over 70 years in terms of living standards. Hammond...