Business

British businesses are right to be concerned about the rise of Reform UK and should demand far tougher scrutiny of the party’s economic plans, according to Liam Byrne, the Labour chairman of the House of Commons business and trade select committee.

In an interview with The Times, Byrne said that if Reform were to become the dominant force on the political right, companies would need to take a much closer look at its policies and credibility. He warned that the business community could not afford complacency when dealing with a party whose economic approach remains unclear.

“If Reform is set to become the predominant party of the right, then businesses absolutely are going to need to understand where they’re coming from,” Byrne said. “Particularly when the economic evidence says that populist, interventionist administrations are pretty catastrophic for the economy. The next year or two are going to be quite important for the business community in really getting their head around the reality of Reform.”

His comments come at a time when Reform UK is polling strongly and stepping up its engagement with corporate Britain, even as both Labour and the Conservatives seek to rebuild trust with investors after years of economic turbulence.

Reform, led by Nigel Farage, has begun courting business leaders more actively, though some executives remain cautious. In November, the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, took part in a high-profile question-and-answer session at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry, an appearance widely seen as an attempt to demonstrate openness to scrutiny from corporate leaders.

The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, is due to address a City investor event in January hosted by VSA Capital, where he is expected to outline Reform’s thinking on financial policy and the wider economy. The event has been billed as an opportunity for investors, businesses and policymakers to engage at a “crucial time” for the UK economy.

Byrne said many business leaders he speaks to are already uneasy. He described them as “fairly terrified” by the prospect of Reform gaining power, arguing that the global economic environment is already fragile without the added uncertainty of a party whose spending plans remain opaque.

“A new party like Reform has got spending plans which are so unclear,” he said. “There are so many questions about whether this would ultimately be Liz Truss mark two.”

Reform rejected that characterisation. Tice said in a statement that both Labour and the Conservatives had “wrecked the public finances” and left the economy in a far worse state than before the 2024 general election. He argued that Reform’s approach would restore discipline to public spending, lower borrowing costs and strip away what he described as unnecessary regulation.

“Only Reform will get public spending under control so that the nation’s borrowing costs come down,” Tice said. “We will also cut huge swathes of unnecessary regulation that slow growth and increase the cost of living. Then, and only then, will we cut taxes to stimulate growth.”

For Byrne, however, the message to business leaders is clear. With Reform’s influence growing, he believes companies must press the party harder on the detail behind its promises, rather than accepting broad slogans at face value.

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Business is ‘right to be worried’ by Reform UK, warns Labour’s Liam Byrne

Brits are on track to drink more than 200 million pints of low and no-alcohol beer this year, marking a record milestone that underlines a profound shift in the nation’s drinking habits.

Consumption of “no and low” beers is forecast to rise almost a fifth from 2024 levels, when around 170 million pints were sold, according to research from the British Beer & Pub Association. The trade body expects around 22 million pints to be poured in December alone, as pubs and drinkers increasingly embrace alcohol-free alternatives during the festive period.

The growth has been dramatic. Volumes in the low and no-alcohol category have risen by more than 750 per cent since 2013, driven by significant investment from brewers and changing consumer attitudes towards health and moderation. Separate figures from Drinkaware show that 45 per cent of adults have consumed no or low-alcohol drinks in the past year, up from just 22 per cent in 2021.

Pub operators say the trend is reshaping the bar. Greene King, one of the UK’s largest pub groups, has reported a 36 per cent rise in alcohol-free drink sales over the past year across its 1,600 managed sites, with packaged zero per cent beer and cider accounting for more than 70 per cent of those sales.

For specialist brewers, the shift is becoming embedded year-round. Luke Boase, founder of Lucky Saint, which is now available on draught in around 1,000 pubs, said demand had reached record levels. “We’re seeing this across every month of the year – it’s becoming ingrained in how people are drinking,” he said.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said the surge showed how effectively the industry was responding to changing tastes. “The pub has always been about more than just getting a drink, and it’s inspiring to see so many people choosing to moderate while still celebrating and socialising,” she said.

Despite the growth, brewers argue that regulation is holding the category back. In the UK, beer must be below 0.05 per cent alcohol by volume to be labelled “alcohol-free”, a stricter threshold than in many other countries, where up to 0.5 per cent is permitted. McClarkin said modernising the definition would bring the UK into line with international markets and unlock further investment and innovation.

The shift towards moderation is also creating challenges for established global brewers, as younger, more health-conscious consumers drink less alcohol overall. Low and no-alcohol beers accounted for about 2 per cent of global beer volumes last year, according to IWSR, the drinks analytics firm, which expects that share to rise to 3 per cent by 2027.

Earlier this month, Budweiser Brewing Group, the UK and Ireland arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev, opened its second European de-alcoholisation facility at its brewery in Magor, South Wales. The move means alcohol-free brands such as Corona Cero and Stella Artois 0.0 will, for the first time, be produced in Britain rather than imported from Belgium – a further sign that the no and low-alcohol boom is moving firmly into the mainstream.

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Low and no-alcohol beer breaks records as Britain’s drinking habits shift

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to push Britain into significantly stricter net zero commitments as part of negotiations to rejoin the EU’s internal electricity market, a move that has triggered accusations from critics that the government is surrendering control over UK energy policy.

The Prime Minister and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, are in talks with Brussels over closer alignment with the EU’s electricity trading system, which treats the bloc’s 27 member states and Norway as a single, integrated power market. Britain left the system following Brexit in 2021.

However, EU officials have made clear that re-entry would require the UK to sign up to the bloc’s wider renewable energy and decarbonisation framework. That would mean committing not just to cleaning up electricity generation, but to accelerating decarbonisation across heating, transport and industry.

In effect, Britain would need to double its existing net zero ambition. The EU currently requires 42.5 per cent of total energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030, with an aspiration to reach 45 per cent. The UK’s current figure stands at around 22 per cent.

The potential commitment was revealed in a technical document quietly published on the Cabinet Office website, which states that any electricity agreement should include “an indicative global target for the share of renewable energy in the gross final consumption of energy in the United Kingdom”, comparable to that of the EU to ensure a “level playing field”.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the move would amount to handing decision-making power back to Brussels. She warned that UK ministers could be forced to pursue emissions reductions “regardless of what it will do to people’s energy bills or the competitiveness of our businesses”.

The issue comes as Labour continues its broader push to reset relations with the EU, with some MPs urging a return to the customs union, a position Starmer has so far ruled out.

Supporters of closer alignment argue that rejoining the internal electricity market would bring tangible benefits. Britain is already heavily reliant on imported power via subsea interconnectors linking the UK to France, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. At times, close to a fifth of UK electricity is generated overseas, with even higher reliance in London and the South East.

Outside the EU market, UK energy traders cannot use automated cross-border trading systems and must purchase electricity and interconnector capacity separately, a process the industry estimates adds up to £370 million a year in avoidable costs.

Barnaby Wharton, head of grid policy at Renewable UK, said better integration with European markets would improve efficiency and lower costs for consumers by smoothing supply during periods of low wind or solar generation.

Critics, however, argue that the scale of the EU’s renewable targets makes them unrealistic for the UK within the required timeframe. Electricity accounts for only about 20 per cent of Britain’s total energy use, while heating, transport and industrial processes make up the majority. Oil and gas still supply roughly three-quarters of total UK energy demand.

Energy analyst David Turver said the EU targets were effectively “unachievable” without drastic reductions in overall energy consumption, warning that they could risk higher bills or industrial decline if imposed too aggressively.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said the published text was part of an ongoing process and would form the basis of further negotiations next year. They stressed that closer cooperation on electricity could cut costs, strengthen energy security and support investment, but declined to comment further while talks continue.

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Starmer set to align UK with tougher EU net zero targets under electricity market talks

Poundland is preparing to draw on emergency funding after a disappointing Christmas trading period intensified concerns over the discount retailer’s recovery.

The chain is set to tap a £30m overdraft facility provided by its former owner, Pepco, after festive footfall and sales fell short of expectations. The move follows a tough few months for the retailer, which was rescued in the summer by distressed investment specialist Gordon Brothers in a court-approved restructuring deal.

Gordon Brothers acquired Poundland for a nominal £1, a transaction that safeguarded the majority of its 16,000 jobs across 825 UK stores but also paved the way for widespread closures. Under the terms of the deal, Pepco agreed to provide financial support, including an immediate £30m loan and a further £30m credit facility in the form of an overdraft.

Since taking control, Gordon Brothers has closed two warehouses and shut 68 of Poundland’s worst-performing stores, putting more than 2,000 roles at risk, as it attempts to stabilise the business and return it to profitability.

However, trading conditions deteriorated further over the Christmas period. Data from Sensormatic shows that UK high street footfall was down 13 per cent year-on-year on December 23, typically one of the busiest shopping days of the calendar. Retailers are also bracing for a weak start to 2026, with the Confederation of British Industry reporting that sales expectations are now at their lowest level since March 2021.

Against this backdrop, Gordon Brothers informed Pepco in recent weeks that it intended to access the overdraft facility after revenues fell below forecast, creating a short-term liquidity squeeze. Poundland plans to draw down the funding in two stages, with an initial tranche in January and further access later in the year.

Pepco is understood to have initially resisted the request, fuelling fresh questions over Poundland’s longer-term prospects, but agreement was ultimately reached at board level, easing immediate concerns over the retailer’s cash position.

A team of advisers is closely monitoring the turnaround. Gordon Brothers has brought in forensic accountants from AlixPartners to oversee cash flow, while Poundland’s board has appointed FRP Advisory as specialist corporate finance advisers.

Under the restructuring plan, Poundland is expected to close around 130 stores by February next year. Clearance sales are already under way in locations earmarked for closure, with discounts of up to 40 per cent.

Earlier this week, the retailer confirmed it would remain closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, continuing a policy aimed at prioritising staff wellbeing.

A Poundland spokesperson said the restructuring had provided sufficient financial headroom to implement recovery plans and stressed that the business continued to receive full backing from both Gordon Brothers and Pepco. “While there remains much to do, we are pleased with the progress made in recent months as we work to get the business back on track,” the spokesperson said.

Pepco declined to comment.

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Poundland turns to emergency overdraft after Christmas trading slump

British farmers are voicing growing anger after a sharp rise in Australian beef and lamb imports, which they say is undercutting domestic producers and putting further pressure on an already strained livestock sector.

New figures show that beef imports from Australia have surged since the UK-Australia free-trade deal came into force in May 2023. Volumes jumped by almost 200 per cent in the first year of the agreement, rose a further 170 per cent last year, and increased by more than 80 per cent in the first nine months of 2025 alone, according to Australian data.

Sheep meat imports, primarily lamb, have also risen sharply, climbing 39 per cent in 2023 and 42 per cent in 2024, before easing to single-digit growth so far this year.

The figures appear to validate warnings made by British farmers ahead of the deal’s signing, when they cautioned that the agreement could open the door to a wave of low-cost meat imports.

David Barton, a cattle farmer and chair of the National Farmers’ Union livestock board, said the impact of the deal was now being felt across the sector. “We’ve long warned that the UK-Australia deal would have real consequences for British livestock producers,” he said. “Now we are seeing those impacts play out.”

Barton added that the surge in imports is arriving at a difficult moment for UK farmers, many of whom are grappling with a challenging dry season and rising costs. “They need confidence to produce British beef, and this undermines that confidence,” he said.

He also argued that British farmers were being penalised for operating to higher animal welfare and sustainability standards, which can make UK meat less price-competitive. “The problem is that the Government seems to be quite happy with cheap imports that are not, perhaps, produced to the same standards or production methods that would be legal in the UK,” Barton said.

Australia’s Meat and Livestock Association (MLA) has rejected claims that Australian meat is flooding the UK market or being produced to lower standards. Richard Saunders, the MLA’s UK country manager, said Australian beef still accounts for only about 4 per cent of British beef imports.

“There is no way any flooding of the market is going on,” Saunders said, adding that Australia is currently filling only around one-third of its 50,000-tonne tariff-free beef quota under the trade deal. He acknowledged, however, that Australian producers are keen to establish and grow brands in the UK, particularly premium offerings such as Wagyu beef.

On lamb, Saunders said Australia is using roughly half of its 36,000-tonne tariff-free quota. Britain imports between a quarter and a third of the lamb it consumes, with Australia and New Zealand accounting for about 80 per cent of those imports.

Saunders argued that structural differences in production costs explain the price gap. “It’s not very economical to grow lambs in the UK any more,” he said, pointing to higher overheads associated with housing and lambing conditions compared with Australia’s outdoor systems.

He suggested that most imported lamb is sold in London, while consumers elsewhere in the country often prefer British meat despite the higher price. “Outside of London, if you don’t have British lamb on the menu, you’ll be kicked out of town,” he said. “They should definitely be looking after local producers.”

However, Barton warned that the impact of the trade deal would build over time. “This agreement is a clear example of how trade deals can have lasting effects,” he said. “The cumulative impact of this deal, those that followed and future agreements must not be understated.”

He added that Britain’s climate and grassland made it one of the best places in the world to produce beef sustainably, arguing that domestic producers should be supported rather than squeezed out by rising imports.

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Farmers’ anger grows as Australian beef floods into Britain after trade deal

A British parcel entrepreneur forged documents as part of a failed attempt to seize control of Yodel, according to a damning High Court judgment that brings fresh clarity to one of the most chaotic corporate battles in the UK logistics sector.

Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that Jacob Corlett conspired with his mother, Tamara Gregory, to falsify share warrant documents in an effort to overturn Yodel’s sale to Polish courier group InPost. The judge said the signatures on the disputed documents were “suspicious”, bore “many signs of forgery” and were “probably forged”, based on expert handwriting evidence.

In a strongly worded ruling published on Friday, the judge concluded that both Mr Corlett and his mother had lied to the court about how the documents were produced. He described Mr Corlett as “a most unsatisfactory witness” and said the evidence pointed decisively to fabrication.

The judgment is a significant victory for InPost, which agreed a £106m deal to acquire Yodel earlier this year, following months of uncertainty over the company’s ownership and financial stability. Mr Corlett had sought to derail the takeover by claiming he held warrant instruments entitling him to purchase more than 60 per cent of Yodel’s shares, effectively restoring him as majority owner.

The High Court rejected that argument, ruling the warrants invalid because they were forged. As a result, Mr Corlett’s attempt to reclaim control of the business has collapsed.

Michael Rouse, chief executive of InPost International, said the ruling was an “extraordinary judgment” that fully vindicated InPost’s position. He accused Mr Corlett of going to extreme lengths to extract money from Yodel and said the decision protected the integrity of the company and its shareholders. InPost is now considering further legal action in light of the court’s findings.

The ruling addresses only one strand of a wider legal saga. Mr Corlett is also accused of siphoning off millions of pounds from Yodel during a brief period of ownership last year, allegations he strongly denies. Those claims, including accusations of asset stripping and the diversion of funds to companies linked to him and his mother, are due to be examined in a separate High Court trial next year.

Yodel, which employs around 10,000 people, was previously owned by the Barclay family and was sold for £1 to Mr Corlett in 2024 in a last-ditch effort to avoid insolvency. At the time, the 31-year-old entrepreneur was portrayed as a white knight who would stabilise the Liverpool-based parcel firm and merge it with his start-up, Shift Group.

However, relations quickly deteriorated after Yodel’s lenders and advisers alleged that company funds had been misappropriated, including payments totalling more than £4m made to businesses linked to Mr Corlett. Court filings also allege that funds were routed offshore to an Isle of Man company owned by his mother.

Mr Corlett has denied any wrongdoing and says he was unaware of the payments. A spokesperson for him said he was disappointed by the outcome of the ruling and that his legal team is reviewing the judgment as he considers next steps.

For Yodel and InPost, the decision removes a major cloud hanging over the business and clears the way for the Polish group to press ahead with its plans for the UK delivery firm, following a period of turmoil that threatened its very survival.

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Entrepreneur forged documents in failed bid to seize control of Yodel, High Court rules

Britain’s long and often spectacular history of mismanaged inventions, doomed projects and ill-fated ideas is finally getting its own cultural institution.

Next spring, the internationally touring Museum of Failure will open in the UK, celebrating everything from grand design disasters to corporate overreach – all viewed through the lens of learning rather than ridicule.

Its founder, Dr Samuel West, believes the UK is the exhibition’s natural home. Having toured the museum across Europe, the US and Asia, he says Britain’s dark humour and affection for the underdog make it uniquely receptive to the idea of openly examining failure.

“I’ve always wanted to bring it back home,” West said. “The British sense of humour totally gets this – that sarcastic, black awareness that things can just go horribly wrong.”

The Museum of Failure is dedicated entirely to innovation that didn’t work out. Its collection spans failed gadgets, abandoned technologies, commercial disasters and cultural misjudgements, highlighting the messy reality behind progress. Visitors are encouraged to laugh, but also to reflect on the risks that underpin any attempt to do something new.

UK-born exhibits will feature prominently. Among them are the Titanic, the Sinclair C5, the NHS’s abandoned national IT programme, Dyson’s Zone headphones, Amstrad’s e-mailer, The Body Shop – and Brexit. Together, they chart a uniquely British talent for ambition, confidence and, at times, catastrophic execution.

Innovation strategist Ben Strutt, who runs workshops on turning failure into strategic advantage, said the exhibition has the potential to shift attitudes by showing how common failure really is.

“Visitors will see that even the biggest brands in the world fail,” he said. “They’ll also see how some failures later enable success – like the Apple Newton paving the way for the iPhone, or Google Glass shaping today’s augmented reality wearables – and how sometimes better products lose out to worse ones, like Betamax versus VHS.”

West is keen to stress that the museum is not about mockery. Instead, it aims to normalise failure as a necessary ingredient of innovation – something he believes is still widely stigmatised, despite Silicon Valley rhetoric about “failing forward”.

“I want to reframe failure as universal,” he said. “If we only glorify success and punish failure, we stop taking the meaningful risks needed to solve the biggest problems of our time – environmental, social and economic.”

Psychologist Fiona Murden, who has written extensively about resilience and failure, believes the museum could be particularly powerful for younger visitors, helping them rethink risk and creativity. However, she also cautions against oversimplifying the message.

“There’s a danger in celebrating failure too much,” she said. “If it’s framed as always enlightening or cool, it can invalidate the very real stress, loss and consequences people experience when things go wrong.”

West agrees that failure is not experienced equally. He recalls being challenged after a talk by a woman in Ivory Coast who pointed out that, unlike entrepreneurs in wealthy countries, failure for her could plunge an entire family into poverty.

“She was right,” he said. “Failure is cultural, economic and political. If you’re a migrant worker or running a business with no safety net, failure isn’t a learning exercise – it’s existential.”

That cultural contrast has shaped how the museum is received globally. In China, visitors reportedly enjoyed laughing at failed western products. In risk-averse South Korea, some were baffled by what they perceived as a celebration of failure. In the US, the exhibition was treated largely as a joke, folded neatly into the narrative that failure always leads to success.

Britain, West suspects, will be different.

“There’s an instinctive understanding here,” he said. “A recognition that some failures don’t lead anywhere, that things can be painful, pointless and absurd – and still worth examining.”

The final UK venue has yet to be confirmed, but when it opens, the Museum of Failure looks set to strike a chord in a country that has long mastered the art of getting things wrong with remarkable confidence.

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The Museum of Failure is coming to the UK – and Britain’s flops are centre stage

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Understanding the Economic Impact of Major Sports Events on the Betting Industry

British businesses are sharply reducing their public support for Pride, mirroring a broader retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that has gathered pace in the United States.

Analysis of corporate social media activity shows that references to Pride by some of the UK’s largest companies have fallen dramatically in the past two years. Mentions are down by more than 90 per cent since 2023, reflecting a shift in tone as companies respond to political pressure and a changing cultural climate.

The trend closely follows developments in the US, where Donald Trump has led an aggressive pushback against DEI programmes since returning to the White House. Trump has signed a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling what his administration describes as “illegal DEI” initiatives within federal institutions, prompting wider repercussions across the private sector.

Several multinational companies have quietly reduced or withdrawn sponsorship of major Pride events this year, opting instead for lower-profile engagement or none at all. Organisers say the pullback has had a tangible financial impact. Research by the UK Pride Organisers Network indicates that three-quarters of Pride organisers have experienced a decline in corporate partnerships in 2025, with a quarter reporting sponsorship income falling by more than half.

Pride events are traditionally held in June, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, widely regarded as the starting point of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Corporate backing has long been a cornerstone of Pride’s visibility and funding, making the recent shift particularly stark.

In the US, political resistance has intensified at state level as well. Utah became the first state to ban the flying of LGBTQ+ flags on government buildings and schools earlier this year, while other states are considering similar measures. These moves have added to the sense of caution among large employers, particularly those with exposure to both US and UK markets.

The Guardian’s analysis examined customer-facing social media accounts across Facebook, Instagram and X for the ten largest companies headquartered or listed in the UK and the ten largest US companies by market capitalisation. It found that Pride-related posts fell to just four in 2025, compared with 52 in 2023. The analysis included posts referencing Pride events, Pride Month, associated hashtags and internal LGBTQ+ employee networks.

Campaigners warn that the decline risks undermining years of progress on workplace inclusion and visibility, while some business leaders privately argue that companies are attempting to avoid becoming embroiled in increasingly polarised cultural debates.

For now, the data suggests a clear shift in corporate behaviour on both sides of the Atlantic, with Pride becoming an early casualty of a wider reassessment of how far businesses are willing to publicly align themselves with social and political causes.

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UK firms scale back Pride support as corporate DEI retreat gathers pace

Boxing Day sales are expected to deliver a £3.6 billion boost to UK retailers this year, around £1 billion less than in 2024, as cost-of-living pressures continue to weigh on household spending.

The forecast comes from Barclays, which tracks nearly half of all credit and debit card transactions across the UK. The anticipated decline represents a blow to retailers during their all-important “golden quarter”, traditionally the most lucrative period of the year.

Seven in ten consumers say ongoing price pressures will influence how much they spend during the sales, with fewer shoppers planning to take part overall. The proportion of people intending to shop on Boxing Day has slipped to 26 per cent, down from 28 per cent last year.

However, those who do head out are expected to spend more individually. The average Boxing Day shopper plans to spend £253, up from £236 a year ago, suggesting that fewer but more determined bargain-hunters will be driving sales.

Nearly half of shoppers say they will use the discounts to stock up on familiar products at lower prices, while one in four intend to focus solely on essentials. Clothing remains the most sought-after category, followed by food and drink, and beauty products, with many shoppers prioritising premium brands at reduced prices.

The weaker outlook follows a disappointing run-up to Christmas for the retail sector. Sales fell by 0.2 per cent in November and remain around 3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, as consumers continue to prioritise saving after several years of elevated inflation and interest rates.

Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said shoppers had shown “just how cost-conscious they are throughout 2025”, a trend she expects to continue on Boxing Day. She added that artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how consumers approach sales events, helping them compare prices, generate gift ideas and set personalised alerts.

Two in five shoppers say they will use AI tools to hunt for the best deals this Boxing Day, although half of those surveyed worry the technology could encourage overspending. Despite the rise of digital tools, most consumers still plan to do at least some of their shopping in-store, with many citing the experience as part of the festive tradition.

For a significant minority, however, Boxing Day is less about bargains and more about downtime. Almost a quarter of people say the day should be spent at home with family rather than on the high street.

“Boxing Day remains a pivotal moment for retailers, fuelled by Christmas nostalgia,” Johnson said. “But it has evolved to reflect modern consumer demands, where value, convenience and technology increasingly shape how people shop.”

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Boxing Day sales set to fall by £1bn as cost-of-living pressures bite