Jeremy Hunt handed £13bn windfall raising chance of tax cuts ahead of election April 25, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been handed a £13bn windfall from the UK public finances holding up better than expected, raising the chances of tax cuts ahead of the next general election, official figures out today reveal. Numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning showed the UK borrowed around £139bn in the year [...]
Tory heavyweights endorse former Boris Johnson adviser to run for London mayor April 25, 2023 A former Downing Street adviser to Boris Johnson has emerged as the Conservative front runner for London mayor next year after earning the backing of three party heavyweights. Energy secretary Grant Shapps and Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker, along with former home secretary Priti Patel, announced on Monday they were endorsing Samuel Kasumu to [...]
Regulation set to challenge the ‘dominance’ of tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook April 25, 2023 Plans to toughen up UK regulation of some of the world’s largest tech companies will go before MPs for the first time, with the competition watchdog’s dedicated digital unit set to be given sharper teeth. New laws to regulate big tech firms, such as Google, Amazon and Meta, have been long awaited, with MPs last [...]
Watchdog extends investigation into PM’s declaration of interests April 24, 2023 Parliament’s standards watchdog has expanded the investigation into Rishi Sunak’s potential breach of the rules on declaring financial interests. The Prime Minister is also being investigated over whether he broke the MPs’ code of conduct relating to disclosing details surrounding active inquiries, it emerged on Monday. Standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg opened the inquiry following concerns [...]
Keir Starmer: Diane Abbott’s racism comments were ‘antisemitic’ April 24, 2023 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Diane Abbott’s comments about racism as “antisemitic” and said they will never be accepted in the party. Abbott had the Labour whip suspended after comments suggesting Jewish, Irish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”. Sir Keir would not say if Abbott should not [...]
Sunak pledges £100m ‘world leader’ AI boost as firms wooed at business summit April 24, 2023 Prime minister Rishi Sunak has insisted his government is undertaking “the most transformative changes to financial services regulations since the Big Bang”. Sunak insisted the Financial Services and Markets Bill was a “very significant piece of legislation”. He pledged that once the law was implemented, Solvency II reforms would “unlock tens of billions of pounds [...]
‘Abandoned’: UK citizens trapped in Sudan concerned as Government has ‘severely limited’ ability to help April 24, 2023 British nationals trapped in Sudan have said they feel “abandoned” by the UK Government as the Foreign Secretary warned that help will remain “severely limited” until a ceasefire is reached. James Cleverly has faced questions about why British diplomats had been prioritised over other UK citizens following a night-time evacuation mission to rescue embassy staff [...]
Hunt for Britain’s next top lobby begins as CBI crumbles under scandal April 24, 2023 The hunt for the heir to the CBI’s throne has begun as industry chiefs begin casting around for Britain’s next top business lobby organisation. It comes as the “hopefully temporary” stand-in group BizUK emerged this weekend, in a bid to help steer political parties’ approach to industry ahead of the general election. City grandees suggested [...]
Civil service could see ‘politicisation’ in wake of Raab row April 23, 2023 The government’s civil service advisor is considering plans to increase the “politicisation” of Whitehall, in the wake of Dominic Raab’s resignation following a report into bullying claims. Writing in the Observer, Tory peer and ex-Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the government should be “more robust and less mealy mouthed about ‘politicisation’”. Maude, who is [...]
Diane Abbott has Labour whip suspended after ‘offensive’ remarks April 23, 2023 Diane Abbott has had the Labour Party whip suspended following remarks suggesting Irish, Jewish and Traveller people are not subject to racism “all their lives”. Abbott made the claims in response to an article on the issue of racism in Britain today and has apologised “for any anguish caused”. The chief whip has removed the [...]