Private equity has been accused of buying up firms, undervalued on UK stock exchange and then selling off profitable assets, maximising short-term cash flows, costing jobs and taking away a sense of ownership. .
British aerospace manufacturers to benefit from UK-US trade deal as further details announced. UK aerospace sector to see tariffs removed completely as further progress is made on the UK-US trade deal.
First Minister John Swinney has confirmed that pensioners in Scotland will receive no less than they would under the new UK Winter Fuel Payment scheme. During a speech on public service reform and preventative public health measures to ensure Scots live longer, healthier, wealthier lives, the First Minister confirmed further details of the Winter Fuel Payment scheme will be set out in due course and that ‘the Scottish Government will always seek what is best for Scotland's pensioners’.
Economics, as it is now taught, is almost total rubbish. No wonder the world is in a mess when political decisions are based on this nonsense..
An expert group will assist Ministers on how to maximise the economic benefits of Scotland's multi-billion technology sector. A new Scottish Technology Council will help shape policy, provide a link between businesses and the Scottish Government and promote Scottish tech companies on the international stage.
Accelerating the UK's transition to a low-carbon energy system will require substantial investment—much of which must come from private capital. Energy providers, investors, policymakers, and consumers each have a critical role to play in ensuring that investment in low-carbon infrastructure and technology scales up rapidly enough to meet the UK's net zero targets.
The Adam Smith Institute commissioned its partner organisation, Adam Smith Insights, to conduct a nationally representative poll of adults in Great Britain. The polling showed that only 5% of Brits believe that their taxes are well spent, with over half of Brits saying that taxes are too high.
SQA has published guidance on acceptable use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools in assessments for the 2025-26 session. GenAI tools may be used where they do not undermine a learner's ability to demonstrate the knowledge, understanding, and skills required for assessment.
Insolvency-related activity in Scotland hit a 29-month high in May 2025, according to new research from R3, the UK's insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3’s analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows there were 141 cases of insolvency-related activity in Scotland in May - the highest number on record since December 2022’s figure of 142.
The UK government's spending review has set out its priorities for the next three years. But behind the rhetoric about boosting growth lies growing concern about small businesses being locked out of the wider UK economy.
Half of entry-level white collar jobs might cease to exist in the near future, according to Dario Amodei, the CEO of leading AI company Anthropic. Amodei, whose company is behind the Claude platform, has since called for transparency standards requiring companies making AI models to demonstrate how they are handling risks such as the AI enabling cyberattacks or helping to make bioweapons.
The British state is slowly turning into a National Health State. With half of all public-service spending set to allocated to health and social care by the end of the decade, according to the Resolution Foundation's overnight analysis of Spending Review 2025.
The leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, recently announced that if in government, his party would abolish the two-child limit on benefits. This social security policy restricts the payment of means-tested benefits to the first two children of a family.
The UK is facing a security crisis. Great power competition has returned, and the threat of hostility from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea is increasing.
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the government's spending review, setting out its plans and priorities for the next three years. The aim of the review is of course to allocate spending over that time period - but this government is keen for economic growth and so has directed the funds to try to boost GDP.
New initiatives taking advantage of Scotland's world-class reputation as an innovation nation have been announced by the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes. Three projects, backed by £4.4 million, are designed to help turn ground-breaking research across the country's universities and colleges into high-growth businesses that create jobs and support economic growth.
Whenever the UK government decides to spend public money on a new project, it needs to weigh up the costs against the value of the benefits it hopes to achieve. And it's rarely a simple calculation.
The Spectator's economics editor Michael Simmons is joined by the outgoing boss of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson and the CEO of the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice to understand why Britain's economy is in such a bad place. Given it feels like we are often in a doom loop of discussion about tax rises, does this point to a structural problem with the British economy?.
The UK's fertility rate has fallen to around 1.44 children per woman in England and Wales—the lowest on record—and even lower in Scotland at about 1.3. Raising a child in the UK is no small financial feat! According to recent estimates, the cost of raising a child to age 18 is around £260,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent.
The UK government's investment of around £14 billion in a new nuclear power plant marks a big economic shift for the country's approach to energy. The Sizewell C plant in Suffolk will be the second of a new generation of reactors to be built in the country, after Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is expected to open in 2031.
