The Budget didn’t deliver a silver bullet for youth unemployment, but it’s a start March 4, 2021 This pandemic has drawn lines in society dividing outcomes by age, health condition, geography and job types, none more so than the negative economic consequences of Covid-19 for young people as they lose out on education, jobs, career progression and pay. Youth unemployment is currently around 13 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels and, according [...]
Beer boss: does Rishi Sunak’s bid to save pubs go far enough? March 4, 2021 It’s been no secret that the beer and pubs industry has been calling on the Chancellor to outline concrete support for one of the UK’s most beloved and vibrant industries. Today, we can start to see some light at the end of the tunnel and welcome the Government’s support. But is it enough or should [...]
Gaping hole in Rishi Sunak’s budget leaves young and jobless behind March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak made clear in today’s budget that protecting and supporting jobs remains the highest priority for the Government. This reassurance is vital. As we begin to plan for the future, the costs of the pandemic are becoming clearer and clearer. The toll will be immense and there is no group that has been as [...]
Editorial: Long-term growth worryingly absent in a tax-hiking, business-battering Budget March 3, 2021 Tax hikes are one thing – but more concerning are the pedestrian growth numbers that seem to be the new normal for the British economy Conservative Chancellors do not, as a general rule, batter big business or ordinary Brits with tax hikes. But these are not normal times, and batter both Rishi Sunak certainly has. [...]
Corporation tax hike: Rishi Sunak is on the way to creating a tax environment to stifle innovation March 3, 2021 Last week, Rishi Sunak rightly said that fintech is one of the UK’s big success stories, and that the growing industry needs access to talent, finance and support. I had therefore hoped for more good news for the sector in today’s Budget. However, it’s been announced that from 2023, the rate of corporation tax, paid [...]
We need to stop endless reviews to save Britain’s summer March 3, 2021 Boris Johnson’s roadmap to unravel lockdown has lifted spirits across the nation. The reopening timetable is something to look forward to after so many months of isolation. When the ExCeL built the first Nightingale in March last year this felt like a distant dream. We were told vaccines could take years in development, PPE was [...]
Rishi Sunak must take his time balancing the books or risk punishing those hardest hit by Covid March 3, 2021 Timing is everything. The Chancellor, as he weighs up his options to make some initial headway in his avowed “sacred duty” to balance the books, knows this only too well. His income support schemes are being closely managed to match the extension and easing of pandemic restrictions on the economy. While this is significant, so [...]
Budget 2021: The political consensus on low taxes could be completely wrong March 3, 2021 In the run up to most Budgets there is almost always one key question shaping debate: should the screws be tightened or the floodgates opened? This time round, a near unanimous consensus has arisen. Taxes should not go up, for fear of jeopardising the recovery. Even the Leader of the Labour Party has signed up to [...]
Budget 2021: Tax hikes are the same as austerity and will spell Rishi Sunak’s downfall March 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget marks the beginning of a damaging era of austerity that risks crushing Britain’s economic recovery. While other countries are trying to jumpstart their economies, Rishi is expected to ratchet up income and corporate taxes to address the mounting deficit. The Chancellor is right that Britain’s fiscal position is not sustainable. It [...]
Step aside, Tesla. We need electric ships to hit net zero March 2, 2021 It is not surprising that the government has already set aside £400m for electric car charging points. Electric cars are familiar, and on their way to becoming mainstream. It makes sense as the Government continues full-steam ahead for their war on climate change. A study released only this week shows their fossil fuel-guzzling counterparts waste [...]