Reeves urged to ‘grasp the nettle’ with wholesale reset of council tax Experts say chancellor should go further than rumoured plan to update value of homes in top three bands
What does the left want? A wealth tax. What will that accomplish? Very little Imposing a 1% levy on the super-rich isn’t a policy, it’s pantomime. Tackling inequality in Britain will require much more far-reaching changes, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty
Microsoft has ‘ripped off the NHS’, says MP amid call for contracts with British firms Samantha Niblett highlighted government’s multi-billion-pound deals with Microsoft and ‘getting locked in’
Fall in UK inflation looks like turning point that heralds interest rate cut Rachel Reeves hints there will be budget measures to push down prices and Bank of England is likely to act
Launch of East West Rail services to be delayed in row over guards on trains Trains between Oxford and Milton Keynes put back to 2026 partly due to dispute, Chiltern Railways says
‘Out of touch’ hereditary peers criticised for voting against workers’ rights Lords look ‘undemocratic and firmly against interest of working people’, say senior trade union and Labour figures
Tories and Reform spout imaginary numbers as they fight for attention Back-of-an envelope calculations by Kemi Badenoch, Mel Stride and Nigel Farage are nothing but political fever dreams
Bond markets could force Rachel Reeves ‘to do a secondary budget’, City investor warns David Zahn of Franklin Templeton said bond yields could rise in response to chancellor’s fiscal plans and government would have to react
UK consumers warned over AI chatbots giving inaccurate financial advice Which? study of ChatGPT, Copilot and others uncovers incorrect and misleading tips on investments, tax and insurance
UK officials ‘working day and night’ to resolve NHS drug pricing row’ Patrick Vallance says government trying to rebuild relations with pharma industry as he outlines life sciences ambition
AI, Covid and taxes: what is behind steep rise in youth unemployment? Last year’s employer NICs increase and a weak economy are adding to tricky conditions for young people
Have Reeves and Starmer missed the chance to ditch stealth taxes? Retreat from plans to increase income tax means Labour is unlikely to make system fairer and more coherent
Nigel Farage is today’s Enoch Powell and his appeal down to slow economy, says minister Business secretary Peter Kyle says appeal of far-right parties like Reform due to ‘their dogma of disruption, division and despair’
What pension changes is Rachel Reeves considering in the budget? One possible alteration was thought to be tax-free cash drawdowns, but the chancellor may have turned to salary sacrifice schemes
English councils plan to sell off social clubs and sports centres to balance books Survey finds 60% of key cities councils are planning to sell assets to meet costs of adult and children’s social care