Labour puts pressure on Sunak to ease household cost of living pressures in Budget October 26, 2021 Labour has put pressure on Rishi Sunak to do more to ease household cost of living pressures in the autumn Budget as MPs hit out at the Treasury for releasing large parts of tomorrow’s announcement early. Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Bridget Phillipson today called on the government to cut VAT on energy bills [...]
France threatens to block ports and slow-down customs checks as fishing row reaches boiling point October 26, 2021 British officials fear France will escalate the post-Brexit dispute over fishing rights, according to the Telegraph. Jean Castex, France’s prime minister, will unveil a series of retaliatory measures if French fishermen are not provided greater access to the UK’s coastal waters. This could include cutting energy supplies to the UK and Jersey and blocking Britain’s [...]
Tory MPs call for UK government to pull out of global tax deal October 25, 2021 A pair of Tory MPs have called for the UK government to pull out of the global corporation tax deal, claiming it could cost the Exchequer billions in tax revenues. Backbenchers Greg Smith and Andrew Bridgen called for Rishi Sunak to reconsider his commitment to the deal, after he helped broker it at this year’s [...]
This week’s Budget: An overview of the £30bn of investments announced so far October 25, 2021 More than £30bn of investment has already been revealed by the Treasury ahead of Wednesday’s Budget. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that “(over) the last year, I’ve been focused on delivering our plan for jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods, their incomes, their jobs”. But he said he would now be “looking to the future and [...]
Minimum wage set to rise to £9.50 per hour October 25, 2021 The National Living Wage will increase from £8.91 per hour to £9.50 in the Budget this week. The 59p an hour boost means a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will see a pay rise of more than £1,000 a year. This is a 6.6 per cent increase in the minimum wage, which is [...]
Pandemic festivities: A ‘normal Christmas’ is on the horizon, says Sajid Javid October 25, 2021 A “normal Christmas” is on the way, providing everyone “plays our part”, health secretary Sajid Javid has said today. Responding to concerns that this Christmas could face the same fate it did last year, Javid told BBC Breakfast: “What we know about this virus is that it’s unpredictable and I don’t think any sensible health [...]
Brexit: MPs call out EU for delaying UK inclusion in Horizon R&D programme October 25, 2021 A parliamentary committee has called out Brussels for blocking the UK’s entry to the Horizon Europe research and development programme, claiming that it is damaging British businesses. A report from Westminster’s European Scrutiny Committee today said delays were leading to “increasing opportunity costs” for British businesses and research institutions as they are frozen out of [...]
Transport, research and skills: £20bn of investments announced ahead of Budget October 24, 2021 When Rishi Sunak delivers his second Budget in a year this Wednesday, there may not be many surprises left after investments totalling more than £20bn were announced over the weekend. The Chancellor will head to the Commons with a focus on levelling up transport links outside London, research and development in health, and a “skills [...]
Britain must avoid becoming strategically dependent on China, Liz Truss warns October 23, 2021 Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK should not become “strategically dependent” on China, as she wants to build “a network of liberty around the world with like-minded partners.” Truss, who was promoted in the reshuffle last month and has been on a trip to India in recent days, was asked about the involvement of [...]
Leaders say ‘danke schön’ at Merkel’s farewell party with surprise appearance from Obama October 23, 2021 Angela Merkel was given a big farewell party by European leaders last night, with former US president Barack Obama making a cameo video appearance. Attending her 107th EU summit, Merkel was feted by friends and foes alike in an informal ceremony behind closed doors, where she was called everything from a “compromise machine” to the [...]
