All Policy & legal articles
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Opinion‘How is Rachel Reeves going to achieve her promise to M&S workers?’
On a visit to a Marks & Spencer store, the chancellor pledged that more of workers’ pay will go into their pockets, but everything done so far appears to be having the opposite effect, observes Maureen Hinton
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NewsWest End fears weakest Christmas sales growth since pandemic
London’s West End is on track to record its lowest festive season sales growth since the pandemic, as nervous shoppers rein in spending ahead of a late November Budget.
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NewsDune founder: ‘The UK is not an exciting place to do business’
Dune founder Daniel Rubin has criticised the government for failing to keep its promise to boost growth, stating: “The UK is just not an exciting place to do business.”
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NewsAI search to have big Black Friday impact as retailers rush to capture spend
AI-enabled search will have a bigger impact on customer product discovery and spend this Black Friday, as retailers battle to capture promotional spend due to the potential impact of the Budget.
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NewsAmazon confirms mass corporate job cuts
Amazon has confirmed it will axe thousands of jobs across its global corporate workforce.
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NewsRetail bodies say over 100,000 jobs at risk if chancellor hikes business rates
Over 100,000 jobs could be at risk if chancellor Rachel Reeves imposes higher business rates, the British Retail Consortium and UK Hospitality have said.
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NewsGrocery giants make rates plea to chancellor in bid to tame inflation
Leading grocers have written to chancellor Rachel Reeves, setting out the case for excluding shops from the planned business rates surtax.
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NewsTemu to crack down on copycat designs
Online giant Temu is to take stricter action on design plagiarism, Retail Week understands.
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NewsM&S boss urges chancellor to back business, not burden it, in Budget
Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin has called for business rates reform and no new taxes that affect consumers in the forthcoming Budget.
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NewsBRC welcomes progress as crime bill passes second reading
The British Retail Consortium has welcomed the progress of the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, after it passed its second reading in the House of Lords on Thursday (October 16).
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NewsAsos in talks with German authorities over customs duty dispute
Asos has confirmed it is in discussions with the German customs authority over claims of unpaid import duties.
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NewsShein braces for Trump tariff hit after profits fall
Shein has warned that uncertainty around new US trade tax rules will weigh on profits after taking a hit from rising costs last year.
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NewsBiggest festive retail recruiters revealed amid record-breaking job search figures
The recruitment platform revealed that jobseeker searches for Christmas roles in the UK were up 28% year on year, the highest level it had seen since comparable data began in 2018.
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NewsCo-op warns 150,000 jobs at risk without business rates reform
Co-op has called on the government to do more in the Budget to protect small shops, warning a failure to do so could cost 150,000 jobs.
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NewsM&S study reveals retailers help more youngsters into work than any other industry
Almost a quarter of young people start their careers in retail – more than twice the total for any other UK industry – research for Marks & Spencer has shown.
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NewsLow consumer confidence weighs on UK retail footfall
Low consumer confidence ahead of the upcoming Budget next month is driving shoppers away from retail locations, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned.
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NewsJohn Lewis Partnership receives green light for Reading development
John Lewis Partnership has received planning permission for its £70m build-to-rent development in Reading.
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NewsASA rules against Hammonds Furniture ad
The standards agency ruled against the Leicester-based furniture retailer over three different issues with its advertising
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Opinion‘Why not make a third less profit, Tesco?’
A call for Tesco to make less money isn’t the answer to food price inflation but would mean less investment in Britain, a more insecure food system, and lower tax receipts, maintains Shore Capital’s Clive Black
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Chart of the WeekChart: Reduce National Insurance and business rates – poll of economists
A new survey of economists and policy experts by the Centre for British Progress think tank suggests experts think NICs and business rates should not be used to raise additional revenue, but VAT should