Exclusive: Capital gains tax on French properties to soar for UK residents post-Brexit December 2, 2020 UK residents with a second home in France will have to pay substantially more capital gains tax on property sales starting from next year when Britain leaves the Brexit transition period. French tax authorities confirmed today that UK residents will no longer benefit from the EU exemption from a social levies tax and will need [...]
Pfizer vaccine: Matt Hancock green-lights 800,000 doses for rollout next week December 2, 2020 The NHS will start vaccinating the most vulnerable next week, after 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine passed batch testing this morning, the health secretary has said. Announcing the UK’s approval of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine in the Commons this morning, Matt Hancock said: “I can confirm that batch testing has been completed this morning for [...]
Labour rules out Universal Basic Income for next election manifesto December 2, 2020 Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said she will not advocate giving every person in the UK a regular lump sum payment in the party’s next election manifesto. Dodds today told a virtual Bloomberg conference that giving regular handouts to everyone in the country, known as Universal Basic Income (UBI), “won’t work”. The shadow chancellor’s [...]
What counts as a substantial meal under new Tier 2 rules for pubs? December 2, 2020 Scotch eggs were first mentioned in the House of Commons in 1979 by Labour MP George Cunningham, who said the proposed introduction of pub meals was little more than a decoy to sell more booze. Pub food would “likely result in the sale of liquor — and that is what we are talking about rather [...]
There can be no ‘new chapter’ with China while Hong Kong’s freedoms are trampled December 2, 2020 Hong Kong is a unique region in the world. The “one country, two systems” policy is meant to ensure that the territory represents a bridge between the west and China, and flourishes as a symbol of freedom, hope and possibilities. Sadly, this is not the Hong Kong that we see today. Since the National Security [...]
Government slammed for relying ‘too much’ on management consultants in Brexit preparations December 1, 2020 The government relies “too much” on management consultants for work on Brexit preparations “that could be better done by civil servants”, the select committee on government spending has warned. In a wide-ranging report published today, the Public Accounts Committee slammed the government’s negligence of civil servants in preparing for Brexit, amid warnings that ministers are [...]
Business bodies warn that three-quarters of pubs, bars and casinos could go bust under new tier system December 1, 2020 The UK’s leading business bodies have slammed MPs’ decision to vote the new tier system in place from midnight tonight as the “nail in the coffin” for many businesses, warning that it will cause three-quarters of night-time venues to shut forever. The Prime Minister this evening fought off the largest Tory backbench rebellion in his [...]
New Covid restrictions pass in parliament despite large Tory rebellion December 1, 2020 MPs have agreed to implement new tiered Covid restrictions from tomorrow, however Boris Johnson was rocked by the largest Tory backbench rebellion he has faced. Seventy-eight MPs, including 55 Tory MPs, voted against the government and against the three-tier Covid restrictions. The largest previous rebellion against Johnson was when 44 Conservative MPs voted against bringing [...]
Gove ‘doesn’t know’ how many customs agents UK has ready for Brexit, says lorry group December 1, 2020 The country’s largest lorry lobby group has said Michael Gove does not know how many customs agents the UK will have available post-Brexit and that there will be chaos at the border on 1 January deal or no deal. Gove, the minister responsible for Brexit preparations, today refused in an interview to answer how many [...]
UK MPs join push to support Australian wine in face of China tariffs December 1, 2020 British MPs have backed a call to support Australian wine, after China slapped 212 per cent tariffs on imports of the product. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), which involves MPs from across the world, is calling for people to buy and drink Australian wine this month. America’s National Security Centre has also shown solidarity [...]