In a setback for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, one of Britain’s biggest supermarkets has publicly thrown its support behind farmers opposed to the Government’s planned inheritance tax (IHT) reforms. Sophie Throup, head of agriculture at Morrisons, posted a video message on X (formerly Twitter) declaring the retailer’s solidarity with farming communities, who are preparing […]
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has outlined a sweeping vision for the UK to become the world leader in artificial intelligence, pledging a distinctively British approach to regulation while unleashing AI’s potential to revive the country’s sluggish economy. Unveiling the government’s “AI Opportunities Action Plan”, Starmer vowed to break from both the US and EU regulatory […]
Concerns are escalating over the future of Northern Ireland’s largest private employer, with 2,700 jobs at risk at Spirit Aerosystems’ Belfast factory. The site’s predicament stems from complications in a takeover deal involving Boeing, which agreed to acquire Spirit, and Airbus, which has said it will only purchase the portion of the plant manufacturing A220 […]
The 2024 winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice, Rachel Woolford, has unveiled plans for her debut collaboration with Lord Alan Sugar—an extension to her North Studio fitness enterprise in Leeds, designed to meet surging demand for Reformer Pilates. Woolford, 28, secured a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar earlier this year when she triumphed over rival […]
Virgin Group, led by Sir Richard Branson, is preparing to order a dozen high-speed trains—worth an estimated £500 million—as it pushes to become the first competitor to Eurostar on services through the Channel Tunnel. Project leader Phil Whittingham confirmed that Virgin aims to close the deal as early as this quarter, ahead of rival startup […]
Traders are increasingly betting on a significant drop in the pound as concerns mount over the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s ability to stick to her fiscal targets following a sharp rise in borrowing costs. According to Bloomberg, many so-called options trades would profit if sterling plunged to $1.12, an 8 per cent fall that would mark […]
British manufacturing giant JCB has backtracked on plans to convert 500 agency staff to permanent positions, citing “challenging market conditions” in the wake of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s recent tax-raising Budget. The decision comes as businesses across the country grapple with mounting costs and faltering confidence after employer National Insurance (NI) contributions were raised from 13.8 […]
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is once again inviting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from across the country to compete in its Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards, with entries open until 9 March. This year’s competition sees the introduction of two new categories and a revamped prize package designed […]
Plans by the Bank of England to expand its Leeds presence have hit an early stumbling block, with only 156 current employees registering an interest in transferring from London. The revelation comes after Governor Andrew Bailey announced last year that the Bank intends to have one in ten of its total workforce — at least […]
Britain’s chemicals industry faces an “extinction event” amid soaring energy prices and rising carbon taxes, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned, after announcing the closure of Ineos’s last remaining synthetic ethanol plant in the UK. The shutdown of the Grangemouth facility, which mainly supplied the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, took effect on Wednesday, resulting in a […]