Controversial Help to Buy policy to boost home ownership to end tomorrow March 30, 2023 A flagship policy to boost home ownership among young people will come to an end tomorrow. The Help to Buy Scheme, launched in 2013, will be wound up, after more than 350,000 people used it to buy their first home, with more than £2.2bn of support last year. But some property experts have warned the [...]
Labour and Tory governments shun £500bn of investment for UK economy since 2000 March 30, 2023 Britain has missed out on £500bn of public investment this century as a result of successive Labour and Conservative governments trimming capital spending to balance the books, a new report out today claims. Since the turn of the millennium, the UK has injected around 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of public investment [...]
Is the UK about to tick one of its ‘Asia tilt’ boxes by joining CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc this week? March 29, 2023 The UK is set to join the key CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc later this week, according to reports. Negotiations have been ongoing to secure Britain’s entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) since early 2021. And sources have now said the UK’s entry into the pact is “agreed” and “confirmed”, according [...]
EU countries seek legal option to stop Russian LNG imports March 29, 2023 EU countries agreed on Tuesday to seek a legal option to stop Russian companies sending LNG gas supplies to EU nations.
Germany wins exemption over EU laws to ban CO2-emitting cars March 29, 2023 EU countries gave final approval end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035, after Germany won an exemption e-fuel vehicles.
Plans to house asylum seekers in military bases and barges as government pushes ahead to ‘discourage’ small boat crossings March 29, 2023 Asylum seekers will be housed in disused military bases, ferries and barges under government plans to reduce spending on hotels. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is expected to announce the use of two RAF sites as he tries to reduce the £6.8m a day the government says it spends on hotel accommodation. The plans are likely [...]
In defence of capitalism: Does money corrupt politics? March 29, 2023 In the fifth of an eight-part series, Dr Rainer Zitelmann – the author of the new book In Defence of Capitalism – argues that free markets, capitalism and money make for fairer elections and freer democracies, not the other way round The American intellectual Noam Chomsky, one of the most popular critics of capitalism, writes [...]
The £100,000 childcare cut-off is hardly crime of the century, but it’s bad policy March 29, 2023 So here’s a column in defence of the one per cent, which at least is something you don’t see in any other rag, so let’s hope you enjoy the novelty. Worse, it’s arguing that those paid north of £100,000 are being hard done by. A challenging sell. But, but, but. It is increasingly this paper’s [...]
Superloop or ‘Superflop’? Khan unveils £6m bus network connecting outer London ahead of ULEZ expansion March 28, 2023 Sadiq Khan has unveiled plans for a new “Superloop” orbital bus network linking services around outer London. Express bus routes on the network will have limited stops, faster journey times and connect outer London, City Hall says. The mayor of London is funding £6m towards the scheme, but TfL says it will cost much more. [...]
Tech Nation in talks with Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum as wind-down date looms March 28, 2023 Start-up quango Tech Nation said it is in talks to sell its brand to Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum today as it prepares to wind down at the end of this month.