Top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill hits out at ‘sniping’ from inside government July 8, 2020 Britain’s outgoing top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill has hit out against the culture of off-record media attacks in Westminster that saw him recently sustain a barrage of public criticism. Sedwill had been the victim of numerous off-record briefings to the media about his role in the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. It has [...]
Rishi Sunak Summer Statement: All the Chancellor’s spending pledges July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced a raft of measures in his Summer Statement in a bid to help the UK economy recover from the worst effects of coronavirus. The Treasury boss revealed massive public spending to bolster the UK economy in what people are calling his mini-Budget. While he did not extend the government’s furlough [...]
Booze misses out on VAT cut, but pubs say glass is half-full July 8, 2020 Britain’s largest pub body has shaken off Rishi Sunak’s decision to not cut VAT on alcohol in his economic summer statement and instead largely praised the mini-Budget. The British Beer and Pub Association (BPPA) said the exemption would provide little help for “those pubs where revenue is more drinks led”, but that most of its [...]
New job retention bonus at heart of Rishi Sunak’s £30bn spending spree July 8, 2020 UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today put a new “job retention bonus” programme to encourage companies to bring back furloughed workers at the centre of a £30bn package aimed at kickstarting the economy. In his summer statement, Sunak said employers who take back furloughed workers until the end of January will receive a £1,000 payment for [...]
Rishi Sunak’s mini-Budget: Everything the chancellor announced July 8, 2020 Rishi Sunak has announced a wave of sweeping measures to kickstart the UK economy in his mini-Budget – here’s what they are. Announcing his Summer Statement in the Commons today, Sunak pledged to pause stamp duty, boost hiring, slash VAT, and introduce “eating out” vouchers for every person in the UK. “Despite the extraordinary support [...]
City reckons more ‘enormous’ stimulus to come from Rishi Sunak in autumn July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a package worth up to £30bn to boost the UK economy as the coronavirus lockdown is gradually eased, and promised it “will not be the last action”. At the centre of the stimulus is a “job retention bonus” worth up to £9bn that will pay companies to take back furloughed [...]
UK nominates former minister Liam Fox for top role at WTO July 8, 2020 The UK will nominate former trade secretary Liam Fox as its candidate to be the next director general of the World Trade Organization, it said today. “Dr Fox is a passionate advocate of multilateralism, who brings detailed knowledge of the global trading system from his years as a UK cabinet minister and secretary of state [...]
Labour: Chancellor has ‘put off big decisions’ in summer statement July 8, 2020 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has accused Rishi Sunak of putting off many of the “big decisions” until the autumn. Responding to the Chancellor’s statement Dodds said” “Today should have been the day when our government chose to build a bridge on what has been done so far and what needs to be done… we should [...]
Sunak slashes VAT on hospitality and tourism to five per cent July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has slashed VAT on hospitality and tourism from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for six months, as the government seeks to revive the UK economy after months of lockdown. In an unprecedented announcement in the Commons today, Sunak vowed to cut the VAT rate from next Wednesday until 12 January [...]
Brexit: Michel Barnier says Brussels ‘ready to grant’ City of London access to EU markets July 8, 2020 EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said Brussels is prepared to grant the City of London access to European markets post-Brexit. New documents released by the House of Lords EU committee show that Barnier recently told the group that Brussels was “ready to grant equivalence”. The EU has the power to unilaterally grant access to [...]