Ministers to oversee HS2 amid warnings of ‘dire delivery failure’ October 20, 2024 Ministers will oversee work on HS2, the government has announced, as the transport secretary warned costs had spiralled out of control. Louise Haigh has announced urgent action to bring the cost and delivery of the high speed route from London to Birmingham back under control. It comes as the Sunday Times revealed leaked documents marked [...]
‘Build baby build’: Break infrastructure ‘inertia’ to boost growth, report urges October 18, 2024 Ministers have been urged to break Britain’s infrastructure “inertia” in a bid to turbocharge the planning system and ramp up growth, according to a think tank report. Streamlining the consent process, empowering key decisions in the national interest, fixing ambiguous laws, and updating policy documents would all contribute to the UK’s ability to build infrastructure [...]
Landlords urge Reeves to offer Budget tax breaks amid ‘market uncertainty’ October 17, 2024 Private landlords groups have written to Rachel Reeves to urge the government to offer tax breaks amid “market uncertainty” ahead of the Budget. In a letter to the Chancellor prior to the 30 October fiscal statement, representative bodies including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said their members face “uncertainty on a number of fronts” [...]
Ministers to speed up energy ‘skills passport’ amid worker shortages October 17, 2024 The energy secretary will speed up oil and gas workers being able to transition to jobs in the renewable energy industry via a “skills passport” as workforce shortages are “hindering” the sector. Energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband confirmed his department will “provide project management advice” to Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable [...]
Boris Johnson Unleashed: Puns, prose but too little punch October 17, 2024 Let’s face it: if you aren’t a Boris fan or someone inclined to read every political biography, it’s unlikely you will pick up this book. When I told my brother I was reading it, his response was: “Why would you want to relive that mess?!?”. My mother was more pointed: “I’m not reading anything by [...]
South Bank’s ‘The Slab’ in spotlight as campaigners fight planning decision October 16, 2024 South Bank 'The Slab' is the topic of a legal battle at court this week as campaigners seek to overturn the former government's decision to green-light redevelopment
Tory leadership: I’ll return us to ‘party of sound money’, Robert Jenrick pledges October 16, 2024 Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has pledged to return the Conservatives to “being the party of sound money”, if elected. The former migration minister outlined his economic plans in a speech this morning in which he admitted the Conservatives “abandoned fiscal responsibility in the mini-Budget.” Jenrick told an audience of journalists and MPs at a [...]
When it comes to national insurance, the government is pulling a fast one October 16, 2024 One of the many problems the government has got itself into over tax rises that may or may not appear in the upcoming Budget is an oversimplification of where the cost of a certain tax falls. Ministers and their supporters talk about Capital Gains Tax as if it only lands on rich people selling off [...]
Employer National Insurance hike could risk jobs amid 95,0000 vacancies October 15, 2024 Increasing employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) could pose a risk to jobs amid some 95,000 vacancies across pubs and restaurants, a hospitality lobby group has warned. Data released from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed there are a “stubbornly high” 95,000 openings across the sector, including in venues, cafes and eateries. Hospitality UK [...]
Entrepreneurs ‘can’t be in doubt’ about our growth pledge, Reynolds argues October 15, 2024 Entrepreneurs who signed an open letter warning about the impact of hiking capital gains tax “can’t be in any doubt” about Labour’s commitment to economic growth, Jonathan Reynolds told City AM. The business and trade secretary was responding to a letter signed by a group of 500 British entrepreneurs, including the founders of Signal AI, [...]