Director general of the CBI Digby Jones has welcomed Tony Blair's conciliatory moves towards business at the lobbying group's annual conference.

Homeowners hit by the Bank of England's rise in interest rates this month are to receive another blow in quick succession. For along with high earners, they are likely to come off badly from the chancellor's pre-budget statement this month, according to accountants at Grant Thornton.

Public confidence in Tony Blair's ability to deliver public service improvements has slumped to a new low, with two out of three voters now convinced that the billions of pounds being spent by the Government will be wasted.

A Conservative government under Michael Howard would have to wait several years before introducing significant tax cuts, Oliver Letwin, the shadow chancellor, indicated.

A site demonstrating how much time average taxpayers spend working for the government each year.

Buried in the small-print of the pre-Budget report is a controversial new proposal which could affect 300,000 small businesses by cracking down on the use of dividends to lower the National Insurance burden on owners.

BRITAIN'S place as the world's fourth largest economy is being "poisoned" by Labour taxes and red tape, Tory leader Michael Howard said yesterday.

Michael Howard will promise today to make Tax Freedom Day - the day each year when people stop working for the taxman and start working for themselves - a public holiday if the Conservatives are returned to government.

Tax Freedom Day is the day on which the average UK taxpayer can expect to stop working for the government and instead begin earning money for themselves.