Tories pledge to scrap mandatory time off for union reps April 27, 2026 The Conservative Party has pledged to scrap the legal requirement for employers to offer paid time off for union representatives. Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith will announce the policy on Monday, which he says will free up taxpayer cash to be spent on cutting NHS waiting lists and filling potholes. Union reps are currently [...]
‘National scandal’: Record-high shoplifting driven by repeat offenders April 26, 2026 Shoplifting has been branded a “national scandal” as incidents reach a record high, fuelled by a growing number of repeat offenders. More than 500,000 shoplifting offenses were recorded last year, according to official figures released in response to a parliamentary question by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. Fears around the worsening state of [...]
King’s Speech to unleash wave of City reforms April 26, 2026 A host of City of London reforms will be set in stone at next month’s King’s Speech, as the Prime Minister hopes to use the moment to turn a corner from doubts over his leadership. Impending reforms, including scrapping the payments watchdog and overhauling the financial ombudsman, are set to be legislated in the financial [...]
‘Waste of time’: Trump cancels envoys’ trips to Pakistan for Iran talks April 26, 2026 Donald Trump has cancelled a trip by US envoys to Pakistan to hold more peace talks with Iran, shortly after Tehran’s delegation left Islamabad. The US President said special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be wasting “too much time” on the trip, accusing Iran’s delegation of “tremendous infighting and confusion”. The collapse [...]
Government to step up support for businesses affected by Iran war April 26, 2026 The government is ramping up efforts to offset the impact of the Iran war on UK businesses as concerns over energy prices continue to grow. In its latest attempt to ease the damage caused by the Middle East conflict, the government has opted to work directly with businesses, with the prime minister preparing to chair [...]
Starmer to face vote over Peter Mandelson sleaze inquiry April 25, 2026 Keir Starmer will face a vote on whether he should be referred to a parliamentary sleaze inquiry over claims that he misled the House of Commons about the appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the US. The prime minister said earlier this week that Downing Street had put no pressure “whatsoever” on the Foreign Office, [...]
Lib Dems vow to push back controversial Pension Schemes Bill April 24, 2026 The government has been warned that the Pension Schemes Bill will continue to be pushed back unless ministers remove controversial mandation powers, as a groundswell of opposition puts pressure on the government to water down the bill. The warning comes as the House of Commons gears up for the bill to bounce back from the [...]
Bank of England: Firms are bracing for price rises and job cuts April 24, 2026 Firms believe that employment will decline and inflation will hit four per cent in the next year, research by the Bank of England has shown, as tensions mount over spiralling wage and price growth over the next year. The Bank’s latest decision maker panel, a survey of business owners on price expectations, has fuelled concerns [...]
‘China data theft’: 500,000 Britons’ details put for sale online April 23, 2026 The government has revealed that confidential medical data belonging to half a million Brits was put up for a sale on a website in China. Data stored in UK Biobank, the world’s most comprehensive set of information on health that is used by scientists for research, was put on Alibaba. The data did not contain [...]
Civil servant defends Starmer over ‘due process’ on Mandelson April 23, 2026 A top Whitehall operator has appeared to defend Sir Keir Starmer’s insistence that due process was followed by the government in the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Cat Little, the Cabinet Office’s chief operating officer, said that bureaucratic procedures around security and vetting were adhered to by the Prime Minister’s team at [...]