Labour conference: Reeves challenged over consumer ‘fear and foreboding’ September 23, 2024 Rachel Reeves has been challenged over claims the government has “generated a fear and foreboding” among consumers – but insisted she was “optimistic” about the economy. Ahead of her keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today, the Chancellor was challenged on Sky News over last week’s fall in consumer confidence to the [...]
Reeves to strike positive tone in Party Conference speech September 23, 2024 Rachel Reeves is set to promise a Budget that will “rebuild Britain” in a speech at the Labour Party Conference that will claim that the “work of change has only just begun”. In a notably more optimistic tone than Labour has adopted in recent weeks, the Chancellor will vow to deliver a “Britain of opportunity, [...]
Donations a ‘feature of our politics’, Angela Rayner tells BBC amid gifts row September 22, 2024 Donations to MPs are “a feature of our politics”, Angela Rayner has insisted amid a row over Labour politicians accepting gifts and freebies. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had come in for criticism in the past week over accepting more than £100,000-worth of gifts, including tickets to football matches, concerts and luxury clothes. But he, [...]
Singapore’s wealth fund snubs regulated UK utilities amid Thames Water crisis September 22, 2024 Singapore's sovereign wealth fund has reportedly told the government that it will not invest in regulated UK water, electricity and gas utilities due to unpredictable rules on infrastructure, in a blow for Labour's economic strategy.
Use Budget to urgently review UK’s tax system, accountants urge Reeves September 20, 2024 Rachel Reeves should use the Budget next month to urgently review the UK’s tax system, including business rates and VAT, a chartered accountants group has urged. The Chancellor has been called on to set out the government’s plans to reform business rates, VAT and employment status by the end of the year in the fiscal [...]
Replace the NHS with Social Health Insurance says think tank September 19, 2024 The IEA has called for a radical transformation of the NHS, proposing it be replaced with a Social Health Insurance system to improve healthcare outcomes in the UK
Big Four under pressure as government looks to slash £5.4bn consultant bill September 19, 2024 The UK government should review opportunities for further insourcing in management consultancy, a top think tank has urged, putting more pressure on the Big Four firms as Labour seeks to cut spending.
“Older and poorer” – the UK’s future? September 19, 2024 The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, said last week that the UK risks becoming “a country with an NHS attached.” Coming from a Labour MP this constitutes admirable candour. The problem is, we’re long past that point already. The NHS is by far the biggest employer in the country (over two million people) with a budget [...]
Jeremy Hunt backs calls to abolish NHS England September 19, 2024 Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has backed calls to abolish NHS England amid a suite of reforms to how the service is managed. A new report from think tank Policy Exchange has argued for overhaul of NHS management structures, training and incentives to improve the system’s performance and productivity – as opposed to focusing on [...]
Tory leadership race: Robert Jenrick tops ‘PopCon’ poll as favourite to lead party September 18, 2024 Robert Jenrick has topped a Popular Conservatives poll as the favourite to lead the party in the Tory leadership race. The former immigration minister got 38.3 per cent backing from those surveyed, beating rival and former business and trade Kemi Badenoch on 34.9 per cent. It is the fourth so-called ‘PopCon’ poll Jenrick has won, [...]