Rishi Sunak admits current UK borrowing is “not sustainable” November 26, 2020 Rishi Sunak has conceded that the current projections for UK borrowing are “obviously not sustainable”, after the chancellor yesterday unveiled huge economic interventions as part of his winter Spending Review. Sunak yesterday lifted total government spending on the Covid response to £280bn, as he vouched his commitment to “jobs, businesses and public services”. The chancellor [...]
Charity begins at home — which makes foreign aid more important than ever November 26, 2020 No one can have envied Rishi Sunak yesterday, for it was the chancellor’s task to unveil the Spending Review to the House of Commons, facing (we were told by the Treasury) the worst economic landscape since the Great Frost of 1709. Sunak strove for sombre and minatory, but he has not yet gained enough political [...]
IFS says Sunak likely to end up spending more than planned November 25, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is likely to end up spending more than he said he plans to in his spending review today amid “lasting damage” to the economy, the leading Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank and other experts have said. Sunak today said he would ramp up public spending to tackle coronavirus next year [...]
Sunak’s tough choices: a sobering assessment November 25, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s spending review was a sobering assessment of not only the challenges facing the UK economy, but also the enormous economic damage created by the pandemic and the numerous lockdowns around the country, with the budget deficit for 2020 expected to come in at £394bn. The Chancellor said that the UK economy was likely [...]
Khan: Nothing to help London in any meaningful way in spending review November 25, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan has given a damning verdict on the chancellor's spending review, saying there was nothing in it to would help London
OBR: ‘No-deal’ Brexit to wipe 2 per cent off GDP – with finance worst hit November 25, 2020 Official forecasts suggest a “no-deal” Brexit will hit the UK economy to the tune of two per cent next year and scar the economy for years to come. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that real GDP will be 1.5 per cent lower in five years than its current central GDP assumption if London [...]
MPs amp up pressure to avoid placing London in Tier 3 when lockdown lifts November 25, 2020 The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure from his own party to avoid placing London in Tier 3 when England’s lockdown lifts, over fears tough restrictions could cripple businesses in the capital. Reports of government plans to place London in the highest level of restrictions under the new tier system, set to be announced tomorrow, [...]
UK borrowing to hit record £394bn as economy shrinks 11.3 per cent November 25, 2020 Government borrowing is set to soar to a peacetime record of £394bn this year while the economy will contract at the fastest pace since the 1700s thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, according to bleak predictions from the UK’s budget watchdog. The figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show that unemployment is expected to [...]
Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut November 25, 2020 Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut
Switzerland offers 3,500 work permits for Brits post-Brexit November 25, 2020 The Swiss government has allocated up to 3,500 work permits to let employers recruit staff from the UK, which will no longer be covered by Swiss free-movement rules with the EU post-Brexit. Under the system 3,500 British citizens coming to Switzerland for the first time will be allowed to work in the country. “This ensures [...]