Chancellor Rachel Reeves has not enjoyed the happiest of starts to 2025 with calls in some quarters for her to even be removed from her post. While this is unlikely to happen any time soon, there is no question that this Government’s management of the UK economy is under intense scrutiny as the fallout from […]
Labour’s landslide victory in last week’s General Election was broadly welcomed by the financial markets. The one thing that the markets dislike more than anything else is uncertainty – something that was never likely to be an issue with Sir Keir Starmer’s party maintaining their 20-point poll lead throughout the six-week campaign. The new Government […]
The politician in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt must have wanted to go further in his Autumn Statement giveaways, but that was never likely to happen. The Chancellor has put too much effort into reassuring the markets and the British public that he is a careful custodian of the economy to jeopardise all of that for a […]
A leading Cheshire chartered financial planners has celebrated its 25th anniversary. Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services marked the occasion with a party at The Neston Club attended by staff and some of the firm’s longest-standing clients. The eight-strong team is based in Neston and covers Cheshire, Wirral, Merseyside and North Wales, providing independent financial […]
A question I am increasingly being asked by clients is whether a change in Government has a significant effect on the financial markets. The question is an interesting one given that next year will see a General Election in the UK and a US Presidential Election. As things stand, the polls suggest that both Prime […]
Celebrating our 25th anniversary This November will see us celebrate a special milestone as it is exactly 25 years since Phillip Bates & Co Financial Services opened for business. Many of our clients have been with us for much or all that time while, for others, we have started acting for you in more recent […]
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came in for a fair bit of criticism at the weekend for telling the British public to “hold our nerve, stick to the plan and we will get through this”. The PM’s interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg followed the announcement by the Bank of England that it was raising its […]
Recent stories in the press have raised concerns about pension planning or, rather, the lack of it. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has launched a wide-ranging review of the pension system, looking at whether people are saving enough and if more support is needed for people to use their funds appropriately. The Pensions Review is […]
The decision by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to abolish the lifetime allowance on pension pots is an important one. Within a few minutes of the Chancellor sitting down after his Budget speech, we received several enquiries from clients wanting to know the implications of the announcement. The lifetime allowance limit was first introduced by Chancellor Gordon […]
We hope your 2023 has got off to a good start. The early data suggests that the economic situation continues to look brighter than it did for much of last year. The UK inflation rate eased in December from 10.7% to 10.5% with lower prices for petrol and clothing pushing down the headline rate. While […]
