Finances

Refuge reports ‘staggering’ 78% annual increase in referrals for cases of technology-facilitated or economic abuseDomestic abuse charities have reported a “staggering” increase in perpetrators using technology and finances to control their victims, with a “concerning” rise in people being coerced into car finance agreements.Data from Refuge, the UK’s largest specialist domestic abuse charity, reveals a 78% rise in referrals for cases of technology-facilitated or economic abuse in the past year. Continue reading...

Farage was under pressure over undeclared gifts, including from crypto gambler and fraudster George CottrellUK politics live – latest updatesNigel Farage has announced he is to resign as the MP for Clacton to fight a byelection, revealing he is under a second investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over undeclared gifts.The Reform UK leader said it was part of “sticking two fingers up at the establishment” and it would prove that the public wanted him to stay on as an MP. Continue reading...

‘Nothing to see here,’ says the man who once overruled council planners in favour of Richard ‘Dirty’ DesmondHow unlucky can one man get? You have to feel for Nigel Farage. Why does it keep happening to him? There he is, just minding his own business, trying to make a decent living – those five houses won’t pay for themselves, which is why other people may have done – and yet there’s always someone trying to drag a good man down. Isn’t the “Man of the People (TM)” entitled to have a few multi-millionaires as friends to bankroll his lifestyle? Who hasn’t pined for crypto and gold bullion?First there was the £5m from the British-Thai crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne, revealed exclusively by the Guardian. Months later, the stench won’t go away. Even Nige has been at a loss to explain what exactly he was given the money for. Unsure whether it was a payment to cover security or just a little “thank you” for a lifetime’s work in the service of making the country an easier place for grifters to make money. Even now, Nige has gone to ground as he tries to get his story straight. Continue reading...

Given pressures on the public purse, the Makerfield MP may have to look at autumn tax rises to fund his ‘new direction’An economy rattled by a global energy shock, jittery bond markets and rising spending demands. As Andy Burnham prepares for government, the pressures on the public finances are in focus.The prospective prime minister pledged a new direction for Britain this week within two constraints: sticking to Labour’s current fiscal rules, and consistency with its 2024 manifesto. Continue reading...

• The Federal Reserve maintained its key interest rate on Wednesday but signaled that future rate hikes are likely. • Fed officials revised their year-end PCE inflation projection upward to 3.6%, a significant increase from the estimates provided in March. • This shift has impacted financial markets, with the CME Group's FedWatch tool showing the probability of at least one rate hike by year-end jumping from 60% to 85%.

MPs urged to push for ‘radical reform’ after NAO finds former prince made income from Royal Lodge propertiesCampaigners have called for radical reform and a public inquiry into “all royal finances” after revelations that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received an undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate while paying a “peppercorn rent”.A report from the public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), found the rental income went to the former Duke of York, but said: “We do not know what rent was charged.” Continue reading...

• The House of Commons Library has released updated economic indicators focusing on UK government borrowing and debt. • Public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL), a key metric for the government's wider financial balance sheet, reached 83.6% of GDP by the end of April 2026. • These indicators are critical as they track the government's progress toward specific fiscal targets and overall financial stability.