Paul Lewis
@paullewismoney.bsky.social
Financial journalist, broadcaster, and speaker. Seek the truth, find the truth, tell the truth. Unequivocally for free speech & press. Wilkie Collins expert too
Banks to be given more freedom to lend out money kept as capital reserves bit.ly/3M6fsLL ‘unleash’ always a frightening term next to the word ‘banks’! Banks’ lobby group says it could unleash £2 trillion in mortgage lending or £1 tr in business loans
Capital rules for banks set to be eased this week
The Bank of England is set to simplify the way banks hold capital to protect against their collapse in a move that could unleash billions of pounds in lending
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November 30, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Banks to be given more freedom to lend out money kept as capital reserves bit.ly/3M6fsLL ‘unleash’ always a frightening term next to the word ‘banks’! Banks’ lobby group says it could unleash £2 trillion in mortgage lending or £1 tr in business loans
More on Truss’s posh WeWork club bit.ly/43ZvAVt powered by AI and human ingenuity
The WhatsApp Group: Liz Truss’s new club*
*As imagined by Matt Rudd
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November 30, 2025 at 9:13 AM
More on Truss’s posh WeWork club bit.ly/43ZvAVt powered by AI and human ingenuity
Ex-PM to run membership lists at exclusive Tchenguiz-backed posh version of WeWork bit.ly/4isVM0z Buy-in price an ‘investment’ of £500,000. What could possibly go wrong?
Liz Truss promotes £500k club membership to ‘pro-growth leaders’
The former prime minister has been enlisted to front the advertising drive for the Leconfield, a yet-to-be-built network for super-rich executives
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November 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Ex-PM to run membership lists at exclusive Tchenguiz-backed posh version of WeWork bit.ly/4isVM0z Buy-in price an ‘investment’ of £500,000. What could possibly go wrong?
The MoD @DefenceHQ still hasn’t quite grasped what to check when it orders vehicles - now supply lorries follow Ajax tanklets out of service bit.ly/4aluEP8 apparently the “bolts holding them together” shook loose
Army suspends entire support lorry fleet over safety issues
Issues with bolts in MAN support trucks have compounded problems for troops already falling sick after driving Ajax armoured vehicles
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November 29, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The MoD @DefenceHQ still hasn’t quite grasped what to check when it orders vehicles - now supply lorries follow Ajax tanklets out of service bit.ly/4aluEP8 apparently the “bolts holding them together” shook loose
Conservative leader says St Paul agrees with her views on cutting benefits in his epistle to Timothy bit.ly/4pEgAVt actual bishops and former archbishops disagree. But Christians have always gone to the Bible to support their views however “eccentric beyond belief ”
Prince Edward pays peppercorn rent for 120-room Surrey mansion
Campaigners have questioned whether the royal family can justify Edward’s occupation of Bagshot Park, which could otherwise be leased for taxpayer benefit
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November 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Conservative leader says St Paul agrees with her views on cutting benefits in his epistle to Timothy bit.ly/4pEgAVt actual bishops and former archbishops disagree. But Christians have always gone to the Bible to support their views however “eccentric beyond belief ”
Peppercorn rents all round! Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, is the latest royal to have his peppercorn rent revealed. In his case on a property that makes Andrew MB-W’s look modest! bit.ly/4pEgAVt he did make an upfront payment
Prince Edward pays peppercorn rent for 120-room Surrey mansion
Campaigners have questioned whether the royal family can justify Edward’s occupation of Bagshot Park, which could otherwise be leased for taxpayer benefit
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November 29, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Peppercorn rents all round! Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, is the latest royal to have his peppercorn rent revealed. In his case on a property that makes Andrew MB-W’s look modest! bit.ly/4pEgAVt he did make an upfront payment
If you can’t pay the new High Value Council Tax Surcharge you will be able to defer it to death or when you sell bit.ly/4iw02ws but @HMRCgovuk could charge 8% interest until you do. The same rate the govt decided recently is too much for banks to pay on misselling compensation
Homeowners who can’t afford mansion tax could face 8% interest
The government will let payments be deferred, but this could be a money spinner for the Treasury if you have to pay interest
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November 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
If you can’t pay the new High Value Council Tax Surcharge you will be able to defer it to death or when you sell bit.ly/4iw02ws but @HMRCgovuk could charge 8% interest until you do. The same rate the govt decided recently is too much for banks to pay on misselling compensation
From April 2027 income tax on savings interest will rise - basic from 20% to 22%, higher from 40% to 42%, and top from 45% to 47%. This applies throughout UK as not devolved. Same rises on property rental income except in Scotland where it is taxed at Scottish income tax rates.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
From April 2027 income tax on savings interest will rise - basic from 20% to 22%, higher from 40% to 42%, and top from 45% to 47%. This applies throughout UK as not devolved. Same rises on property rental income except in Scotland where it is taxed at Scottish income tax rates.
From April tax rates on dividends will rise by 2ppts from 8.75% (basic) to 10.75% and from 33.75% (higher) to 35.75%. Top raters let off any rise so will stay at 39.35%. Dividends are charged at your highest marginal rate.
November 28, 2025 at 8:43 AM
From April tax rates on dividends will rise by 2ppts from 8.75% (basic) to 10.75% and from 33.75% (higher) to 35.75%. Top raters let off any rise so will stay at 39.35%. Dividends are charged at your highest marginal rate.
The new 3p per mile electric vehicle tax has lots of details still to be worked out bit.ly/3Koku5P and it could end up an even bigger mess than the provision of fast, cheap, clearly priced charging points
Electric cars will need annual checks under Reeves’s new rules
Under the chancellor’s pay-per-mile scheme motorists would have to have mileage officially verified each year
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November 28, 2025 at 8:42 AM
The new 3p per mile electric vehicle tax has lots of details still to be worked out bit.ly/3Koku5P and it could end up an even bigger mess than the provision of fast, cheap, clearly priced charging points
Full list of benefit rates from April 2026 bit.ly/4aihdPX most rise by 3.8% but note how many are not changing at all. Also note state pension main rates rising by 4.8% (extras by 3.8%), UC standard allowances by 6.18%, carers allowance earnings limit by 4.1% with NLW
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November 27, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Full list of benefit rates from April 2026 bit.ly/4aihdPX most rise by 3.8% but note how many are not changing at all. Also note state pension main rates rising by 4.8% (extras by 3.8%), UC standard allowances by 6.18%, carers allowance earnings limit by 4.1% with NLW
My Saga Budget summary bit.ly/4iuQaDm NB yesterday I live tweeted the Budget. So the tweets were verbatim Rachel Reeves and not my opinion as some of you seem to have thought!!
Paul Lewis' Budget warning: Watch out for the taxman's icy grip
The good, the bad, and the frozen - our money expert explains how the budget will affect your pension, taxes and savings.
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November 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM
My Saga Budget summary bit.ly/4iuQaDm NB yesterday I live tweeted the Budget. So the tweets were verbatim Rachel Reeves and not my opinion as some of you seem to have thought!!
Virgin on the ridiculous! Govt may let some British Overseas Territories keep secret the register of the real owners of companies widely used for tax evasion bit.ly/48jM38r
UK accused of caving-in to British Virgin Islands over access to companies register
Parliamentary group urges government to clamp down on overseas territories before flagship anti-corruption summit
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November 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Virgin on the ridiculous! Govt may let some British Overseas Territories keep secret the register of the real owners of companies widely used for tax evasion bit.ly/48jM38r
Judge removed a week before Palestine Action proscription judicial review was due to begin and replaced with a panel of three top judges bit.ly/43LIkiw no reason has been given.
Removal of judge in Palestine Action ban legal challenge ‘deeply concerning’
Unusual last-minute change means panel of three will now hear case rather than Mr Justice Chamberlain
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November 25, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Judge removed a week before Palestine Action proscription judicial review was due to begin and replaced with a panel of three top judges bit.ly/43LIkiw no reason has been given.
Listening to the excellent and frightening You and Yours on @BBCRadio4 about fraud. My tip on cold calls or messages? The moment you engage you are in the thieves’s dark world. So if you get a cold call use this ⬇️ to end the call. Do not listen or speak just hang up.
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Listening to the excellent and frightening You and Yours on @BBCRadio4 about fraud. My tip on cold calls or messages? The moment you engage you are in the thieves’s dark world. So if you get a cold call use this ⬇️ to end the call. Do not listen or speak just hang up.
Heathrow third runway approved bit.ly/4oh2HLS but govt says only for flights to a suburb just outside Birmingham and confirms flights to Manchester or further north will not be allowed. 😂
Heathrow's plan for longer third runway chosen by government
Under the selected plan, the runway would be up to 3.5km long and require a new road tunnel under the airport.
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November 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Heathrow third runway approved bit.ly/4oh2HLS but govt says only for flights to a suburb just outside Birmingham and confirms flights to Manchester or further north will not be allowed. 😂
The one Black Friday rule to remember - never buy anything in the week before or after and especially anything labelled BF which does indeed have your name on it! bit.ly/44qk2e3
Buyer beware: worst retailers for Black Friday bluster revealed
Which? says 83% of home, technology and health products were cheaper or the same price at least once outside the four-week annual sales frenzy
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November 25, 2025 at 7:39 AM
The one Black Friday rule to remember - never buy anything in the week before or after and especially anything labelled BF which does indeed have your name on it! bit.ly/44qk2e3
Motability hopes to take the heat out of criticisms by taking posh cars out of the scheme bit.ly/4ikutWl but convertibles may still be available! 😉
November 25, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Motability hopes to take the heat out of criticisms by taking posh cars out of the scheme bit.ly/4ikutWl but convertibles may still be available! 😉
No-one - real or artificial - can beat the markets in the long run bit.ly/4ihBqaL New study confirms AI not better than humans (though they are normally assisted by algorithms and AI nowadays). AI can’t devise a perpetual motion machine either!
AI stockpicking skills greatly exaggerated, fund managers told
A study rejects claims that artificial intelligence models can outperform benchmarks by up to 40 per cent, saying many of the supposed gains are illusory
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November 24, 2025 at 9:03 AM
No-one - real or artificial - can beat the markets in the long run bit.ly/4ihBqaL New study confirms AI not better than humans (though they are normally assisted by algorithms and AI nowadays). AI can’t devise a perpetual motion machine either!
This rather partial article seems to omit one key extra cost of benefits from April bit.ly/48mDMRc The Universal Credit Act 2025 introduces an uplift of a further 2.3% on universal credit standard allowances on top of the 3.8% rise with inflation - an increase of 6.18%
Reeves’s welfare giveaway to top £15bn
Tories accuse Chancellor of forcing ‘hard-working families’ to ‘pick up the bill’
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November 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
This rather partial article seems to omit one key extra cost of benefits from April bit.ly/48mDMRc The Universal Credit Act 2025 introduces an uplift of a further 2.3% on universal credit standard allowances on top of the 3.8% rise with inflation - an increase of 6.18%
The Belfast walls prove more enduring than the Berlin Wall bit.ly/4p8ykYY more than a quarter of a century after the Good Friday agreement Belfast is still a (physically) divided city
97 ‘peace walls’ still divide Belfast. Will they ever come down?
Twenty-seven years on from the Good Friday agreement, miles of ‘peace walls’ still separate Protestants and Catholics in Belfast. Some people want them built higher
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November 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The Belfast walls prove more enduring than the Berlin Wall bit.ly/4p8ykYY more than a quarter of a century after the Good Friday agreement Belfast is still a (physically) divided city
Who owns the £10 bn Royal Collection of art - 550 Leonardo drawings, Fabergé eggs, Monet paintings - and why is the inventory of it - showing which items are theirs personally and which are ours - kept secret? bit.ly/4prvApl
Who really owns the £10bn treasure in the Royal Collection?
The world’s largest private art collection includes Da Vincis and a £1.5 billion diamond but its full contents and who benefits from them remains a mystery
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November 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Who owns the £10 bn Royal Collection of art - 550 Leonardo drawings, Fabergé eggs, Monet paintings - and why is the inventory of it - showing which items are theirs personally and which are ours - kept secret? bit.ly/4prvApl
In continuing Budget pre-announcements @hmtreasury announces further work by targeted benefit investigations to save an additional £200m a year for next 6 years (£1.2bn as it puts it) tackling the 13% of universal credit claims which include error & fraud bit.ly/44pR2mA
Billions to be saved by driving down benefit fraud and error
Additional £1.2 billion of savings to be made as Chancellor expected to continue efforts to identify incorrect Universal Credit payments to 2031.
6,000 strong team at the Department for Work and Pensi...
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November 23, 2025 at 1:33 PM
In continuing Budget pre-announcements @hmtreasury announces further work by targeted benefit investigations to save an additional £200m a year for next 6 years (£1.2bn as it puts it) tackling the 13% of universal credit claims which include error & fraud bit.ly/44pR2mA
Teenager convicted over car tax (VED) on birthday present she didn’t even own at the time and ordered to pay £1.67 bit.ly/47Wunk9 another triumph 😤 for the Single (In)Justice System
Teenager convicted over £1.67 unpaid tax bill for 18th birthday gift
The prosecution of the teenager happened in the controversial Single Justice Procedure
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November 22, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Teenager convicted over car tax (VED) on birthday present she didn’t even own at the time and ordered to pay £1.67 bit.ly/47Wunk9 another triumph 😤 for the Single (In)Justice System
King’s ransom bit.ly/48rKqGO what the Royal Family really costs as its income ratchets up from the Sovereign Grant after soaring Buckingham Palace costs and offshore wind
How much does the royal family really cost the British public?
The Windsors are the most expensive royal family in Europe, with coronations, weddings, funerals all funded by UK taxpayers. Norman Baker crunches the numbers
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November 22, 2025 at 8:07 AM
King’s ransom bit.ly/48rKqGO what the Royal Family really costs as its income ratchets up from the Sovereign Grant after soaring Buckingham Palace costs and offshore wind