Latest news with #ChancellorReeves
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Labour's tax raid will cause more firms to go bust, says boss of insolvency giant Begbies Traynor
The boss of one of Britain's biggest insolvency firms has predicted more companies will go bust under the weight of Labour's tax raid, as the economy flounders. Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies Traynor, told the Mail that UK firms, particularly in retail and hospitality, were 'still struggling' as the Manchester-based group saw annual profits almost double on the back of surging demand. Traynor said rising costs and an ever-growing tax burden continued to be the main reason firms were collapsing. He highlighted that the number of insolvencies had 'jumped up' in May after Chancellor Rachel Reeves' tax increases took effect the previous month. 'We've seen those smaller businesses that don't have the resources just go under,' Traynor said. 'There's no reason for us to believe this will change.' The comments came after Begbies reported a profit of £11.5million for the year to April, almost double the £5.8million generated in 2024 after revenues surged 12p per cent to £154million.
The Sun
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Net Zero to cost eye-watering £800 billion by 2050 as Rachel Reeves given dire warning on UK finances
THE PUSH to hit Net Zero will cost a staggering £803 billion by 2050 - as experts revealed the lights are flashing red on the UK economy. The cost of the transition to meet green targets over the next two decades will hit taxpayers for an average of £30 billion a year, Ministers have been warned. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility say that two-thirds of this sum will be due to lost tax receipts mainly from the loss of fuel duty income. They said that climate change "poses significant risks to economic and fiscal outcomes in the UK". The body says the impact will be split between investment costs of around £9.9 billion a year and the extent of revenue losses from declining fuel taxes as petrol-driven cars are replaced by electric vehicles. But the watchdog says there is considerable uncertain ty over the costs which could be lower if there is a replacement for the loss of fuel duty. They GDP could fall by 3.3% by 2060 in the event of 2C warming and 7.8% by 2060 in the 3C scenario, the report said. They add that the figure could be even higher if governments fund more of the transition path and 'rely less' on regulation or taxation to fund it. The move comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is already grappling with the public finances in the short-term ahead of the Budget in the autumn. The warning on climate change costs comes as the OBR says the UK's public finances are in a 'relatively vulnerable position'. They say there is limited success in recent years to put them on a sustainable footing. The reversal of planned tax increases and spending such as recent welfare reforms and winter fuel cuts has added to government debt. The OBR said its annual fiscal risks and sustainability report that debt is projected to be 'above 270% of GDP by the early 2070s'. The forecaster added that recent rises in debts have led to 'a substantial erosion of the UK's capacity to respond to future shocks and growing pressures on the public finances'. The watchdog also says that the triple lock which helps boost pensioners' state pension has cost three times what it was initially assumed to cost when it was brought in back in 2012. It was meant to cost around £5 billion a year but is currently hitting the public purse for £15 billion. Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary said: 'The OBR are saying what every business is thinking: that the economy has sailed into iceberg alley with a novice Chancellor at the helm and the ships crew revolting. 'This is a great country but is being horribly let down by Labour.'
Bloomberg
07-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Allegra Stratton: Rachel Reeves's Gilty Feeling
Twelve months ago, 120 business leaders were writing public letters saying how much they were looking forward to a Labour government. This week we welcome in Labour's second year in power — with no sign of similar letters. Instead, our team today report on a number of corporate bosses who feel let down. Labour does seem to be aware of this disillusionment, and we'll look in a minute at what they are discussing to reestablish the government's pro-growth credentials. But first, that love in… The chancellor put herself through endless rounds of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on the breakfast meeting circuit to convince business leaders that a Labour government would be friendly. This always sounded like a very unattractive political exercise to me, even if rich in omega-3, and I'm sure Reeves was pleased to revert to porridge on entering Number 11.
Bloomberg
07-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Declines to Rule Out Wealth Tax as Reeves Faces Growing Calls
The UK government declined to rule out imposing a new tax on Britain's wealthiest people, as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves faces growing calls from prominent left-wing figures to introduce such a levy. 'I'm not going to write a future budget for you now,' Tom Wells, a spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, told reporters on Monday in a briefing during which he repeatedly refused to rule out the prospect of a wealth tax. 'I'm not going to comment on future fiscal events.'
The Independent
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Met Police chief says policing football matches across country costs £70m
Football clubs should contribute more to the £70 million cost of policing their matches, the head of the Metropolitan Police said. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley called for a 'polluter pays approach' and questioned why organisers of events which require policing to support their security do not pay for it. It comes after Sir Mark called for the creation of 12 to 15 bigger police forces as part of what he described as 'the first serious reform of our policing model in over 60 years'. Writing in The Sunday Times, Sir Mark said the current system of 43 county forces had not 'been fit for purpose for at least two decades'. He added that bigger forces would be better able to utilise modern technology and would reduce 'expensive' governance and support functions. Sir Mark said: 'The 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and hasn't been fit for purpose for at least two decades. It hinders the effective confrontation of today's threats and stops us fully reaping the benefits of technology. 'We need to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, with the new bigger and fully capable regional forces supported by the best of modern technology and making better use of the limited funding available.' He also characterised Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to increase police funding by 2.3% above inflation each year in the recent spending review as 'disappointing'. Put to him on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he did not get the money that he had hoped for in the spending review and was already planning to cut 1,700 officers, then asked how many he is going to have to cut now, he said: 'So we've cut 1,600 over the last couple of years… 1,700 officers and staff this year, that 3,300 out of an organisation just over 40,000 is a big hit.' Sir Mark said they have not got all of the details on the spending settlement but he is 'nervous about whether we'll be able to make ends meet with that' which is why he is calling for police reform. Put to him that he had warned he would have to de-prioritise some crimes, and asked what the force will not investigate, Sir Mark said: 'So I don't want policing activity to fall off the list, and I know that the mayor and the Home Secretary have pushed hard for the most police funding that we can get. 'We are determined to improve day in and day out experiences of Londoners on the streets. We can only do that if we focus ruthlessly on police work. 'When new recruits join they expect they're going to spend most of their time protecting the public, enforcing the law, catching criminals. Within a couple of years 80% of them are saying 'I spend most of my time safeguarding the vulnerable, that's critical work, but that's not the core work of policing'. 'So we need help to cut away some of these areas where other pressed public services have effectively pushed work to the police. There are 80,000 missing children from children's home a year in the country. That is really problematic. 'It also falls elsewhere. Policing of football matches across the country, mainly Premier League, cost policing £70 million it doesn't get back from football clubs. In London, it's more than a third of that.' He said there should be a 'polluter pays approach' adding: 'If you're running a profit making event that because of the nature of it, requires security, requires policing to support your security because of the criminality that is going to be experienced, why isn't the organiser paying for that, rather than local communities who lose their resources to go to football matches?' Sir Mark said the police reforms are 'essential', adding: 'If we look at the spending on policing and public safety from the 80s through to the noughties, it was a much higher level than it is today. Over the last decade or more, the proportion that governments are prepared to put to policing is much lower. I don't see that changing dramatically. 'So we've got to make the best use of every pound that governments can give to us.'
