FORGOTTEN HISTORY: 12 | History Defined

John Lewis and Waitrose owner loses £88m after national insurance hike

The retail giant reports a substantial half-year loss but ‘optimistic’ it can turn it around with Christmas trading

The Independent UK · Sep 11, 2025

Voices: Will a pensions raid stop young people from saving?

COMMENT: As British workers make record withdrawals from their pension pots, amid fears that the chancellor is about to reduce the tax-free limit in her autumn Budget, James Moore worries that some people might be prompted to make bad decisions that will affect more than just their later years

The Independent UK · Sep 8, 2025

Rising mortgage rates signal fresh battle for homeowners ahead of Reeves’ Budget

Lenders have raised rates on some deals amid a ‘fraught political and economic climate’, with more expected to follow

The Independent UK · Sep 8, 2025

Why mounting costs mean recent retail growth ‘barely touches the sides’

July retail sales were up 2.5 per cent on 2024 but they were not close to covering the the last budget’s £7 billion in new costs on the sector

The Independent UK · Aug 11, 2025

Tax rises would force up prices for customers, retailers warn Reeves

There are growing questions over how the government will fill a black hole in the public finances at the next budget

The Independent UK · Jul 31, 2025

Starmer’s U-turns leave UK economy ‘vulnerable’ warns OBR

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s warning piles fresh pressure on Rachel Reeves ahead of the autumn Budget

The Independent UK · Jul 8, 2025

Rachel Reeves year in review: Chancellor's 2025 is no cause for celebration

City confidence in her is rock bottom — and Rachel Reeves’s high wire act is just one misstep away from a full blown financial crisis, says Jonathan Prynn

Evening Standard · Jul 2, 2025

Councils to get more powers to crush fly-tippers’ vans in planned crackdown

Local authorities are expected to use existing budgets to tackle the problem of dumped waste.

The Independent UK · Apr 29, 2025

Rachel Reeves sets out cuts to balance the books after budget watchdog’s verdict

The Chancellor updated MPs on the nation’s finances.

Evening Standard · Mar 26, 2025

Spring Statement 2025 LIVE: Rachel Reeves warned economic plans could be derailed as UK growth forecast slashed

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has presented her first highly-anticipated Spring Statement to parliament.

Evening Standard · Mar 25, 2025