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 [...]
The costs of lockdown could far outweigh the benefits July 8, 2020 Radical leaders such as Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland have gained plaudits through their relentless focus on eliminating Covid-19. But this comes at an obvious economic cost. Tourism is some 15 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP, and major destinations such as Queenstown in the Southern Alps have been devastated. [...]
Rishi Sunak’s summer statement: What can we expect? July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will today give a “summer statement”, a sort of mini-Budget in which he will announce schemes to support the economy as it recovers from its coronavirus-induced collapse. Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £5bn of infrastructure spending. He invoked US President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal, saying the UK will “build, [...]
The idea that it is somehow grubby to care about the economy in the face of a global pandemic is nonsense July 8, 2020 Today, chancellor Rishi Sunak will make an announcement to the House of Commons about the shape of the government’s coronavirus support over the coming months. Sunak faces a tough choice as the country starts to open up while trying to keep infection rates as low as possible. There is no easy way out of the [...]
Labour calls for no tax rises to pay for coronavirus spending July 8, 2020 Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds will urge the government to commit to not raising taxes tomorrow in her response to Rishi Sunak’s economic statement. Dodds is expected to respond to the chancellor’s mini budget by saying that Labour is “not calling for tax rises – we are calling for growth”. The shadow chancellor is expected [...]
Rishi Sunak reveals £2bn unemployment scheme to create hundreds of thousands of jobs July 7, 2020 The government will subsidise hundreds of thousands of new jobs for unemployed young Britons as a part of a new £2bn coronavirus support package. Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the launch of the Kickstart Scheme in his summer economic statement tomorrow, which will see the government subsidise jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds receiving Universal Credit [...]
Hancock praises pubs for closing after punters tested positive for Covid-19 July 7, 2020 Matt Hancock has praised three pubs for closing after the NHS track and trace system identified coronavirus outbreaks among their visitors, just days after pubs, bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen after months of lockdown. The health secretary told the Commons that the closure of the Fox and Hounds in Yorkshire, the Lighthouse in [...]
Magnistky Act: Who’s on the Foreign Office’s sanctions list? July 7, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab yesterday unveiled the first 49 foreign citizens facing sanctions for alleged human rights abuses under the UK’s new Magnitsky Act. The new sanctions include visa bans and asset freezes on individuals from Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar who are suspected of “serious” human rights abuses, including murder, torture, massacre [...]