Labour eyes £1bn VAT raid on airport charges in stealth blow to family holidays
HMRC drafts plans to slap 20% VAT on airport landing fees, adding £1bn to airline costs and pushing up the price of UK family holidays — even as Reeves cuts…
2026
Blame the system, not the school leavers for youth unemployment, says Amazon’s UK boss
Amazon UK chief John Boumphrey tells employers to stop blaming young people for record NEET numbers and calls for compulsory work experience for over-16s. Read more: Blame the system, not…
Potters win £120m rescue as government finally backs Britain’s ceramics heartland
The UK ceramics sector has secured a £120m government support package, split evenly between capital investment and operational relief, in a long-awaited win for Stoke-on-Trent's pottery heartland. Read more: Potters…
Brad Burton interview: how the UK’s no.1 motivational speaker rebuilt after lockdown wiped out 4Networking, and survived a four-year online stalking campaign
Brad Burton on the four-year stalking ordeal exposed by BBC Panorama and Channel 4, why LinkedIn refused to act, and the new UK business network he is building to replace…
Nightlife chief brands Chancellor’s summer VAT cut a ‘superficial fix’ that abandons clubs and festivals
Chancellor's summer VAT cut for family attractions ignores clubs, festivals and live music venues, NTIA's Michael Kill warns, branding it a 'superficial fix' Read more: Nightlife chief brands Chancellor’s summer…
Reeves serves up summer of savings with VAT cut on family days out
Chancellor Rachel Reeves slashes VAT from 20% to 5% on summer attractions, children's meals and family days out, alongside a fuel duty freeze and supermarket tariff suspension to ease cost-of-living…
Manual gearboxes set to vanish by 2030 and diesel is tailgating its demise
Manual gearboxes and diesel cars will all but vanish from UK showrooms by 2030, analysts warn. Here's what the shift means for SME owners, fleet managers and company car schemes.…
Andrew trade envoy files: Queen ‘very keen’ ex-prince led UK plc abroad, Whitehall papers reveal
Whitehall releases the file on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s 2001 appointment as UK trade envoy, showing Queen Elizabeth II was ‘very keen’ he take the role — raising fresh questions for British…
HS2 reset to punch £33bn black hole in Britain’s public finances
HS2's revamped budget could leave Britain with up to £33bn of unfunded spending as Heidi Alexander warns the project may cost taxpayers £102bn. What it means for SMEs and the…
Meta to axe 8,000 jobs as Zuckerberg doubles down on AI race
Meta begins 8,000 global redundancies to bankroll a $145bn AI splurge, with 350 Dublin roles in the firing line as Zuckerberg chases ‘personal superintelligence’. Read more: Meta to axe 8,000…