Small boat Channel crossings continue after migrant total reaches 150,000 December 28, 2024 Small boat crossings have continued in the English Channel on Saturday despite the morning’s foggy conditions. Pictures showed the Dungeness lifeboat bringing a number of people, thought to have been picked up from a small boat in the Channel, into the port at Dover. The latest arrivals follow crossings made on Christmas Day, Boxing Day [...]
Starmer demands ‘concrete proposals’ on growth from regulators December 28, 2024 The Prime Minister has called on Britain’s regulators to do more to prioritise growth as he seeks to improve living standards by 2029. In letters sent last week, Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said they wanted to see “concrete proposals” from regulators setting out how they could “go further” [...]
Tax experts question £3m family farm IHT exemption as not ‘realistic’ December 27, 2024 The government’s claim that family farms will benefit from a £3m tax exemption has been questioned by tax experts. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has argued in defence of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ move in the Budget to charge inheritance tax (IHT) on agricultural land worth above £1m. He said earlier this month that in a [...]
Can you complete City PM’s Politics Quiz of the Year 2024? December 23, 2024 It’s been a busy year for politics in 2024. From elections in the UK and US, Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, farmers protests and more, how well do you remember the twists and turns of the past 12 months? Well, while you’re enjoying a mince pie and glass of Baileys, we’ve put together a [...]
A look back at the highs and lows of politics in 2024 December 20, 2024 With elections in the UK and US in 2024, a new government, and a fresh opposition leader, watchers of Westminster and elsewhere have had a busy year in politics. At City PM we’ve followed every twist and turn as Labour secured an election victory in July, Donald Trump pulled off a White House comeback and [...]
It’s not just Waspi women, the government has taken everyone for fools December 18, 2024 You don’t have to agree with the principle of the Waspi women’s campaign to sympathise with their feelings of betrayal. Cynicism is one thing in politics, but saying absolutely anything to get in power will ultimately harm democracy, says Alys Denby Waspi stands for: Women Against State Pension Inequality. It’s a confusing name, because the [...]
Starmer’s diplomacy downplays “epic scale” of Chinese spying December 17, 2024 Yang Tengbo insists that he is not a spy and that he would “never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.” He was speaking yesterday after instructing his legal team to disclose his identity following the “high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere.” Much of that reporting focused on [...]
Growth is easier to destroy than to build December 16, 2024 Missions, milestones, foundations and pledges; Keir Starmer has unveiled them all since winning the election in July, but no amount of visionary rhetoric can compel an economy to grow. Since Labour’s election victory the British economy has whimpered to a halt. GDP flatlined in July and achieved a barely perceptible nudge up in August before contracting [...]
‘Hammer blow’: Family firms call for inheritance tax consultation December 16, 2024 Family businesses are urging the government to consult on changes to inheritance tax (IHT), warning the move represents a “hammer blow” to the UK economy. Some 160,000 family-owned firms – represented by 32 trade associations – have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to request a formal consultation on IHT changes in the Budget. The letter, [...]
If we “re-wire” the state, how much should government do? December 16, 2024 There is a consensus that the state must be more efficient, but less attention has been paid to how much it should actually do, says Eliot Wilson The government has been talking in revolutionary terms recently about how Britain is run. When he appointed Sir Chris Wormald as the new cabinet secretary, the Prime Minister [...]
