Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox tells government: Sky takeover is “in the interest of the UK” March 8, 2017 Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has written to the government setting out why its Sky takeover is “in the interest of the UK, its creative economy and its consumers”. Culture secretary Karen Bradley is currently considering whether to refer the £11.7bn deal to broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Read more: Murdoch Empire 2.0 or socialist witch-hunt? MPs [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Nope, driverless cars are not in the Budget, Philip Hammond just used them for laughs about Corbyn’s Labour leadership March 8, 2017 You'd be forgiven for thinking that driverless cars are getting a major boost with plans announced in today's Budget to help the UK become a top player in automotive automation. For anyone listening to chancellor Philip Hammond's speech (or reading through the transcript), there was indeed mention of funding for disruptive technologies such as "biotech, robotics and driverless cars". [...]
Spring Budget: The OBR is still too pessimistic about UK growth this year March 8, 2017 The biggest story in the Budget wasn’t big news. It had been well flagged in advance that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was revising up its GDP growth forecast to 2 per cent in 2017. In November last year, the OBR expected just 1.4 per cent GDP growth this year. HM Treasury’s latest monthly survey [...]
Budget 2017: Two unusual places the government is raking in the cash March 8, 2017 Experts have highlighted two surprising sources that either have, or are set to be, lucrative sources of income for chancellor Philip Hammond. Buried in the reams of figures that accompany the Treasury's budget are a couple of streams that will help to bolster Whitehall's coffers. 1 – Pensions freedoms PwC's chief actuary Steven Dicker explained how [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan welcomes progress made on devolution to London in the Budget March 8, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered a historic devolution agreement for Londoners today to "protect jobs and investment in the aftermath of Brexit". The devolution agreement focussed on infrastructure projects to help London mayor Sadiq Khan upgrade the capital's road, rail and Underground networks and boost its economy. It also confirmed the devolution of new powers to allow the mayor [...]
Budget 2017: Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers boost to FTSE March 8, 2017 Philip Hammond's Budget announcements drove the FTSE 100 into positive territory for the day this afternoon. While no individual companies or sectors appeared to rise or fall too strongly, the FTSE 250 and FTSE 350 indices also edged up after the chancellor spoke. Read more: This is what the Budget had to say about UK [...]
Budget 2017 UK: Robotics, 5G, broadband and everything promised for “disruptive” tech by Philip Hammond March 8, 2017 Millions of pounds in fresh funding has been promised for disruptive new technologies such as robotics, electric cars and biotech by the government. Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged new cash for development of the technologies in the Spring Budget along with plans to get started on creating a 5G network in the UK and boost broadband. How [...]
Budget 2017: London Mayor Sadiq Khan “disappointed” there was no Budget backing for Crossrail 2 March 8, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was "disappointed" that the government didn't back Crossrail 2 in today's Budget. While the mayor said he was pleased to see progress on devolution, other areas were notably missing from Philip Hammond's announcements. “London did not get everything we needed today," said Khan. "I am disappointed that the government [...]
Budget 2017: Government provides updates on sales of Green Investment Bank, Lloyds and RBS March 8, 2017 The government remained largely quiet on its various privatisation processes in the Budget today. The Treasury announced no new sell-offs, and confirmed the sale of the Green Investment Bank and £12bn of student loans are ongoing. The Green Investment Bank sale process has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, with several MPs raising concerns about [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond cracks jokes at the expense of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn and himself during Budget 2017 March 8, 2017 Breaking: Philip Hammond aka 'Spreadsheet Phil' has a personality. The chancellor, who has been dubbed as boring accounting type, set the scene for the Budget today making a spring budget joke. 1. On Norman Lamont also abolishing the spring Budget "Ten weeks later, he was sacked! So wish me luck!" And that wasn't the only joke [...]