Pressure mounts as Bangladeshi authorities request Tulip Siddiq’s bank details January 7, 2025 Bangladesh’s anti-money laundering agency has demanded information on the bank accounts and transaction records of the UK’s City minister as part of a probe into allegations that her family embezzled billions from major infrastructure deals in Bangladesh. Tulip Siddiq, whose remit includes tackling corruption in business and finance, is accused by Bangladeshi authorities of having [...]
Downing Street asks ICC to support Afghan women amid boycott calls January 7, 2025 Downing Street has waded into the debate surrounding a potential England boycott of next month’s match with Afghanistan, calling on the International Cricket Council to “deliver on their own rules”. England are scheduled to take on Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan on 26 February but there have been calls for the England and [...]
The private health companies set to profit from Labour’s NHS plans January 7, 2025 A City broker has said Feedback and One Health Group are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the government’s plans to reform the NHS in the UK. The Elective Reform Plan, published yesterday by NHS England, set out a range of reforms to enable the government to hit the 18-week target for referral to [...]
Six months on, Labour’s pledge to restore trust in politics has proven nonsense January 7, 2025 Six months on, where have Labour's promises of radical reform gone, asks James Chapman in today's Notebook.
Unhappy New Year? 72 per cent say UK ‘going in wrong direction’ January 7, 2025 Keir Starmer’s chances of a New Year reset have been dealt a blow with new research revealing a lack of confidence in the government’s economic policies. The first of a new monthly City PM/Freshwater Strategy poll found that 72 per cent of voters say the UK is going in the “wrong direction”, including 53 per [...]
Our polling shows hope of ‘change’ has turned to despair for Labour January 7, 2025 The inaugural City PM / Freshwater Strategy poll makes grim reading for Keir Starmer as almost three-quarters believe the UK is heading in the wrong direction The inaugural City PM / Freshwater Strategy poll makes grim reading for Keir Starmer. As the Prime Minister returns from the Madeira sun to snowy London, he is met [...]
Small firms slash jobs on fears of employment rights bill January 6, 2025 An alarming number of businesses have become increasingly concerned about the future of the UK’s workforce under the new Labour government’s employment reforms. A fresh survey of 1,270 small employers by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed over 90 per cent are worried about the implications of the Employment Rights Bill. A majority [...]
Tulip Siddiq: City minister referred herself to watchdog over property questions January 6, 2025 Tulip Siddiq has referred herself to the government’s standards watchdog over questions about her use of properties linked to the deposed Bangladeshi leader, Keir Starmer said. The City minister has come under increasing pressure after it emerged she had been given a London flat and lived in another property with links to her aunt, former [...]
Labour’s China ‘audit’ is pointless. We already know Starmer’s stance on Beijing January 4, 2025 Labour has clearly settled on its stance towards Beijing, let's give up the "audit" nonsense, writes Eliot Wilson.
Why we don’t know how much a ‘National Care Service’ could cost UK January 3, 2025 Health secretary Wes Streeting has unveiled the government’s latest move towards reform of the UK’s social care system. Taking the form of an independent commission into the issue, led by Baroness Louise Casey, the review – reporting in 2026 and 2028 – will aim to build “cross-party consensus” for the creation of a new National [...]
