A raft of new legislation is set to come into force in 2025, bringing sweeping changes to the law.
Since Labour returned to power in July, MPs have been busy getting plans through the Commons. New laws this year will see railways start to come under public ownership, new protections for renters and leaseholders and a ban on disposable vapes.
There will also be a wage boost for more than three million workers, but businesses will have to contend with a rise in National Insurance contributions. Labour has also vowed to get rid of a Tory loophole which retailers say has fuelled a record wave of shoplifting cases.
Here we look at some of the key things that will change in 2025.
Disposable vapes to be banned
One long-awaited new law will see a nationwide ban on the sale of disposable vapes from the summer.
Legislation outlawing the sale of single-use vapes is currently making its way through Parliament. If it’s backed by MPs – as is expected – the ban will come into force on June 1, 2025.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), businesses will have until the deadline “to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force”.
Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said single-use vapes were “extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities”. She added: “That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture. This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country.”
End of no-fault evictions and rent increase cap
After years of Tory procrastinating, new laws are finally set to be brought in to end no-fault evictions. There will also be a much-needed cap on rent increases.
Labour says it will bring an end to Section 21 evictions – which give landlords the power to ask tenants to leave without a reason. They could only require renters to move for valid reasons such as wanting to sell the property or because the tenants are in rent arrears.
The reforms are part of the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament. The legislation as it stands will give renters a one-year period of protection at the beginning of a tenancy, during which landlords cannot evict to move in or sell the property, and would double notice periods for various grounds for possession from two months to four months.
The Bill also aims to put tenants in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases and place restrictions on landlords to ensure they can only raise rent once a year at the market rate.
The Government has said it wants the legislation to be in place by the summer.
Over three million to get compulsory wage boost
More than three million workers will benefit from a pay rise on the spring thanks to new minimum wage rules. Those earning the National Living Wage or the National Minimum Wage will see their pay increase from April 2025.
The National Living Wage will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour, a 6.7% increase that will be worth an extra £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker. Meanwhile, the National Minimum Wage, which is for 18 to 20-year-olds, will rise from £8.60 to £10.00 an hour – the largest increase in the rate on record.
The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice will also be boosted next year, increasing from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour. Together, these increases will mean 3.5 million workers will receive a pay rise in 2025, according to the government. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This government promised a genuine living wage for working people. This pay boost for millions of workers is a significant step towards delivering on that promise.”
Junk food advertising ban
From October, junk food adverts will be banned before 9pm on TV. It is part of a drive to promote healthier eating.
It will affect ads for high sugar, high fat and high salt food in a bid to improve childhood obesity rates. It follows similar legislation in Wales, which came into effect in 2024.
Hike in Employer National Insurance
One of Labour’s most controversial Budget announcements is a 1.2% hike in National Insurance contributions by employers.
There will also be a lower threshold for this to be paid – dropping to £5,000 from £9,100. But there will be protections for small businesses, with an increase in Employment Allowance, allowing them to reduce the impact of the NI rise.
Ms Reeves said the measure is necessary to plug a £22billion black hole left by the Tories. Labour maintains that will not affect workers’ payslips – meaning it doesn’t break their election manifesto pledges.
But businesses warn it will lead to lower wage rises and could prevent them taking on more staff.
Electric vehicle owners to pay road tax for first time
For the first time, electric vehicle (EV) owners will pay tax. An exemption to Vehicle Excise Duty will be lifted on April 1.
EVs registered on or after the tax comes into play will get the lower first-year rate of £10 while those registered before this will face the standard rate of £190 a year.
Another exemption – the Expensive Car Supplement – will also be scrapped. This means owners will have to pay an additional £410 a year for the first five years if their car is worth more than £40,000.
The controversial changes were announced by former Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Non-Doms to be hit with UK taxes
This one was a hot potato in the build-up to the General Election. Under current rules people from overseas who live in the UK can pay taxes in another country.
You’ll remember that Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty was revealed to be doing this when he was Chancellor, sparking a backlash. Labour vowed to shut this loophole, making people liable to pay UK taxes. This will come into place in 2025, and the Government says it will give a huge cash boost to the NHS.
Ms Reeves said: “I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here.”
Shake-up of leasehold laws
The Government has announced a much-needed shakeup of leasehold laws. Reforms to hand leaseholders greater rights, protections and control over their homes will be brought forward in 2025.
Ministers say they will bring the “feudal leasehold system to an end” with a string of new measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act. These will include allowing more leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease without having to wait two years after purchasing their property.
It will also allow homeowners to take over the management of their building. And the new legislation will make it easier to challenge service charges.
Rise in parental leave pay and sick pay
Higher rates for parental leave pay, such as statutory maternity pay, will come into effect from April.
Statutory maternity pay – which is paid to eligible parents for up to 39 weeks – will go up from £184.03 per week to £187.18 per week. Statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory parental bereavement pay and statutory shared parental pay will also go up to £187.18 per week.
The earnings threshold for these benefits will go up from £123 to £125 a week, while the threshold for maternity allowance will remain at £30 per week. Meanwhile statutory sick pay will rise from £116.75 per week to £118.75.
Railways to come under public ownership
One of Labour’s big pledges will come into effect from this year. The Government announced that three rail operators will be brought into public ownership during 2025 – with the rest to follow.
South Western Railway’s services will be the first to undergo the transfer, followed by c2c and then Greater Anglia. At present, the majority of train services in Britain are privately-owned.
Labour’s first wave of rail renationalisation means that by the end of 2025, about four in 10 journeys on Britain’s trains are likely to be on services that are publicly-owned. The Government said the transition to a publicly-owned railway will improve reliability and support its number one priority of boosting economic growth by encouraging more people to use the railway.
Clampdown on shoplifting and staff assaults
The Government has committed to creating a new specific offence of assaulting a shop workers.
It follows a chilling rise in incidents in recent years fuelled by gangs stealing to order. Labour also plans to close a Tory loophole viewed as a ‘shoplifters’ charter’ among retailers.
Policing Minster Dame Diana Johnson said in November: “It is simply not right to leave business and retail workers at the mercy of criminals. We will therefore remove the £200 threshold and treat shoplifting with the seriousness that it deserves, ending the shameful neglect of shoplifting over the last 10 years.”
Since the Tories changed the rules in 2014, shop thefts with a value of £200 or less is a summary-only offence.
