Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Reeves signals focus on lower taxes, less regulation

Rachel Reeves

Reeves also gave her clearest signal yet of support for expanding London’s Heathrow airport. (Photo: Getty Images)

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves stated that the country’s finances were now stable following her October budget, adding that her future focus would be on reducing taxes and cutting regulation.

“Now we have wiped the slate clean,” Reeves said, referring to the October budget.


She was speaking on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

“My instinct is to have lower taxes, less regulation, make it easier for businesses to do business,” she added.

Reeves also gave her clearest signal yet of support for expanding London’s Heathrow airport, emphasising that driving economic growth was a top priority.

Addressing a question on airport expansion during a Bloomberg event at Davos, she said, “When we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it, and that means it trumps other things.”

Reeves further commented on the recent resignation of the chair of the country’s antitrust regulator, stating that the decision aligned with the government’s strategic direction on regulation.

“He recognised that this government has got a different strategic approach when it comes to regulation, and he recognised it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking,” she said on the sidelines of the Davos meeting.

(With inputs from Reuters)

More For You

AI versus Humans
Companies are pouring billions into AI and 90,000 jobs vanish in a year: 7 ways to stay relevant in your role
iStock

7 ways to stay relevant in your job while AI layoffs are rising

  • Meta plans up to $135 billion in AI spending while cutting about 8,000 jobs
  • Microsoft is offering buyouts to nearly 7 per cent of its US workforce
  • More than 70,000 tech jobs have already been cut in 2026

Companies are pouring billions into artificial intelligence while cutting thousands of jobs, and the pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. At Meta Platforms, around 8,000 roles, nearly 10 per cent of its workforce, are being cut alongside about 6,000 open roles that will no longer be filled. Around the same time, Microsoft said it would offer voluntary buyouts to roughly 7 per cent of its US workforce, affecting more than 8,000 employees.

The backdrop is a sharp rise in AI spending. Meta expects to invest between $115 billion and $135 billion this year, while Microsoft is also committing over $100 billion, largely towards AI infrastructure such as data centres and chips. Inside companies, AI is already doing part of the job. In some Microsoft teams, AI tools are handling close to 30 per cent of coding tasks. Across the sector, more than 70,000 tech jobs have already been cut in 2026 as companies restructure around AI-led operations.

Keep ReadingShow less