Author: Jonathan Symcox

Reeves pledges to invest in transport infrastructure.

This includes investment for the Lower Thames crossing, Midlands trains and trans-Pennines routes, and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Reeves says she will retain the UK’s “competitive” corporation tax rate – the lowest in the G7 – and introduce a new 40% first-year allowance so businesses can write off more of the cost of their investment up front.

“Private investment is the lifeblood of economic growth… but growth needs public investment too.”

 

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Reeves also says the UK has some of the lowest levels of retail investment in the UK.

From April 2027 she will reform the ISA system, keeping the full £20,000 allowance while designating £8,000 of it exclusively for investment. Over-65s will keep the full allowance.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

“Growth begins with the spark of an entrepreneur. Half of new jobs in Britain are created by scale-up businesses. And we want those jobs created hee, not somewhere else.

“Our job is to make Britain the best place in the world to start up, to scale up, and to stay.”

Reeves says the Government is widening eligibility for its enterprise incentives to attract talent and capital investment.

This includes tax relief for investors and measures for UK listings relief.

She is also launching a call for evidence on how the tax system can better back entrepreneurs.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

“My Budget is one for fair taxes, strong public services and a stable economy,” she continues.

Reeves says under Labour the economy will be grown patiently and stubbornly.

“By founders who bet their savings on an idea. By firms breaking into new markets. Developing new technologies, and creating new opportunities.

“Our job is to partner with them.”

“After 14 years of Conservative government, the nation demanded change. It demanded investment, not cuts, to public services,” she says.

Reeves says the plan today is hers. “I said there would be no return to austerity, and I meant it.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

A cacaphony of noise as Reeves is invited to the despatch box.

She is quick to point out that the early publication of the Budget is an eror made by the OBR, not her.

As expected, the two-child benefit cap will also be lifted.

Owners of properties valued over £2m will also pay a new annual tax from 2028.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The OBR says that around three-quarters of the planned reduction in borrowing over the next five years now comes from tax increases.

It has cut its medium-term productivity growth forecast to 1% from 1.3%.

“A significant rebound from recent negative shocks has not materialised,” the OBR said.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The OBR says the report was published early due to a technical error and has apologised.

It has launched an investigation and says it will make sure it never happens again.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The OBR says that the Budget will raise taxes by £26bn by 2029-30 with income tax thresholds to be frozen for three years.

The proportion of tax of GDP will hit an all-time high of 38% in 2030-31.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

The OBR report – which leaked the entire Budget early – was published in error.

Badenoch asks whether Starmer will launch an inquiry into the leaks. He responds that it is only 25 minutes away…

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Kemi Badenoch steps up and labels the lead-up to the Budget the most chaotic in living memory.

She cites Budget leaks from the Office for Budget Responsibility as evidence of this.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle tells MPs to quieten down if they want this Budget.

“Nobody wants this Budget, Mr Speaker,” quips the Tory leader.

Starmer retorts: “We all know the most chaotic Budget – Liz Truss’s.”

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Keir Starmer tells the Commons: “This will be a Labour Budget.”

A packed chamber cheers and derides that statement.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Rachel Reeves has vowed to take “fair and necessary choices” on the economy in today’s Autumn Budget.

Tax rises are expected in the highly anticipated Budget, with Reeves set to appear at the despatch box from 12.30pm.

In a video, the Chancellor has acknowledged public anger and frustration at “unfairness in our economy”. Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves are faring poorly in popularity polls at present just 16 months after taking office.

Reeves is looking to fill a black hole in the public finances with a “smorgasbord” of tax rises after an apparent U-turn on an increase in income tax.

Two tax changes were announced yesterday: the expansion of the sugar tax to cover packaged milkshakes and lattes, plus devolved powers for English mayors to impose a tourist tax.

Minimum wage rates will increase next year to £12.71 for adults aged 21 and over, and to £10.85 for 18-20-year-olds.

Reeves is also expected to ditch the two-child benefit cap and makes changes to ISAs.

Author: Robert Whiteside, CEO at EmpowerRD

The Budget is a pivotal moment for the UK to show it is serious about restoring confidence in its innovation economy.

The changes that HMRC have made to the R&D scheme in recent years have rightly strengthened its integrity but have also resulted in a 26% reduction in claim volumes. However, the fact that UK venture funding surpassed £4.5 billion in Q3 2025, the strongest quarter since 2022 tells a contrasting story.

This year’s budget must connect these trends in a way that restores confidence in the scheme’s use, while appropriately rewarding the ambition that fuels the economy.There are five priority actions that would make a material difference for UK innovators:

Lowering the ERIS threshold to 20% so it reflects real-world R&D spend and doesn’t exclude legitimate claims.

Moving R&D credit rates toward international parity to ensure the UK remains competitive as an innovation hub.

Implementing a clear, digital-first Advance Assurance process that meaningfully reduces enquiry risk for SMEs and scaling businesses.

Making full expensing permanent for both tangible and intangible assets to support long-term investment.

Modernising EMI and simplifying investment schemes to help high-growth companies attract talent and unlock capital.

Announcements like the new £1 million bioengineering sandbox fund show the government recognises the need to fuel breakthrough sectors, yet the R&D scheme offers a way to get full value from those investments and must give companies the clarity and certainty to invest, hire and scale.

With broader tax rises likely elsewhere, R&D relief and innovation funding are the levers that can deliver growth without sacrificing fiscal discipline.

Author: Mo Chaudry, entrepreneur and businessman

The economic system in our country is fundamentally broken.

That isn’t because people aren’t working hard, but because the government has stopped rewarding those that do.

For years we have tried to tax, spend and subsidise our way to growth. It hasn’t worked. And it’s not going to work this time around either. 

There are 5.7 million private sector businesses in the UK and 99.8% of them are SMEs employing 16.6m. I think I speak for all of them when I say we want Britain to have a thriving economy. 

But if the Government want the same – and surely, they do – they have to stop punishing success and start championing it instead.

The tax system has to be fair. If taxes on wealth rise, I certainly won’t be leaving the UK to pay less tax abroad. My home is here. My family and friends are here. Whatever money is in the bank means nothing if friends and family aren’t there to share it with me.

But it’s a view not shared by everyone. Only this last week, steel mogul and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal quit the UK to reportedly head to Dubai in response to the tax changes imposed on the super-rich.

My issue isn’t about paying tax – far from it. My issue lies with a system that puts disproportionate burden on entrepreneurs, those who create jobs, who take risks, forge success, and drive growth, but then expects them to carry the economy on their backs.

SMEs generate a staggering £2.8 trillion in turnover. That’s over half of all private-sector revenue. Figures that polarise that success should be celebrated – not treated as a burden. If we want to see growth in this country next year, not in 10 years, we need to back entrepreneurs now.

For as long as I can remember there has been endless discussions about investment in public services as the solution to every national problem. 

6.1 million people are employed across the public sector, with a staggering annual wage bill of £270billion. Yet despite staff numbers, we’ve all seen and heard the stories of a system that’s failing, huge waiting lists, services that aren’t delivering, services that are being cut. Office of National Statistics data shows that public sector productivity is still falling.

I’m not knocking the public sector: our public services, the NHS especially, matter deeply. Free healthcare at the point of access is something this country should be proud of – but investment into it and the rest of public sector alone won’t get Britain firing again. Wholesale efficiency, accountability and modernisation will.

In my view, systematic change to welfare goes hand in hand with that. Welfare absolutely must protect those who need help – but it categorically should not be a system that holds people back.

The welfare system needs to be humane and effective. But we have to be honest – parts of it have evolved into something it was never meant to be.

Too many people have been conditioned by it, to believe that living off the state is the only path available to them. That isn’t because they lack talent, but because the system doesn’t incentivise or encourage ambition. 

I hope we see the whites of Rachel Reeves eyes that the Budget isn’t just another sticking plaster to try and hold the economy together, when in truth industrial-strength super glue is what’s needed.

Author: Roy Magara, founder of Magara Law

Last year’s Budget showed how quickly financial decisions translate into real pressures for staff.

Many employees saw slower pay reviews, fewer progression opportunities and, in some sectors, restructuring that had come in as a response to their tighter budgets.

Employees are not watching the Budget to understand dividend thresholds; they are looking for details about what it could mean for their job security.

An Aquis-listed FinTech business which changed its leadership team this summer has agreed a $200 million funding deal and plans to list in the United States.

Valereum Plc, which is focused on tokenised digital markets and headquartered in Gibraltar, has entered into an agreement to raise $200m of royalty and streaming capital from Valereum QGP-SP – a new company formed by Cayman Islands-based Quorium Global Photonics, an asset-backed financing firm.

In return, the company will grant Valereum QGP-SP a one-year option to purchase up to a maximum 49.9% of ordinary shares in Valereum Plc.

Valereum parted company with CEO Nick Cowan in June following the collapse of a £19m investment deal. It then quickly agreed a €1.7m strategic investment for a minority stake in Fideum Group Limited and installed board member Gary Cottle (pictured) as its new CEO.

Author: Jonathan Symcox

Profits have dropped significantly at identity specialist GBG Group plc.

For the six months ended 30th September 2025, operating profit fell 29% to £6.7m while profit before tax dropped 27% to £4.1m. Revenue for the period fell 1% to £135.5m.

GBG said its FY26 financial performance is expected to be in line with current market expectations while it is continuing to turn around its American operation ‘to build a stronger, sustainable business in our largest market’.

“We’re confident our current actions will result in the Americas returning to growth in the second half as a result of driving structural changes under new leadership,” it said.

During the period it moved from the junior AIM market to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

GBG also announced a £10m extension of its share repurchase programme. It made £17m of share buybacks in the first half with an additional £18m committed until 30th November 2025.