Xi set to snub summit on climate crisis October 15, 2021 Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the COP26 climate conference in person. The Times has reported that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already been told of Xi’s upcoming absence. The UK is hosting the global summit in Glasgow later this month and over a hundred world leaders are expected to show up. It [...]
New gas boilers to be banned from 2035 in latest decarbonisation push October 15, 2021 New gas boilers are set to be banned from 2035, with households being incentivised to make the transition to heat pumps with a £5,000 grant. The move, due to be unveiled under the government’s Heat and Buildings strategy next week, is one of the plans of action in getting the country to net zero by [...]
Joe Biden confirms that he will attend Cop26 in Glasgow next month October 14, 2021 Joe Biden will attend the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow later this month, it has been confirmed. The President’s attendance was confirmed by the US’ Chargé d’affaires to the UK Philip Reeker, who said “the gathering in Glasgow will be a pivotal moment on the road towards a more secure, prosperous, and sustainable future for [...]
UK must be willing to drop environmental standards to close trade deals, says leaked government email October 14, 2021 The government should be willing to water down its environmental standards to persuade other countries to sign trade deals, according to a leaked email circulating around the Department for International Trade. The letter, which was sent to around 120 civil servants across Whitehall this week, said the government should allow other countries to include products [...]
Chancellor plays down hope of loans to struggling businesses October 14, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has dampened yesterday’s hopes that the government will rescue struggling businesses facing soaring energy prices. Without going into specifics, he said that he believes in a market economy and that it is “not the government’s job to come in and start managing the price of every individual product.” His comments to Sky [...]
Exclusive: UK set to keep EU cap on bankers’ bonuses post-Brexit October 14, 2021 The UK is set to keep the EU’s cap on bankers’ bonuses, with the Treasury instead focussed on a range of other measures to shake up financial services regulation post-Brexit. Treasury sources say the measure is not even being discussed by chancellor Rishi Sunak and that it will not be scrapped any time soon. The [...]
Covid-19: Javid criticises London NYE fireworks cancellation as cases climb October 14, 2021 Health secretary Sajid Javid has criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to cancel London’s coveted fireworks show for the second year running. Khan cancelled the show due to concerns of Covid-19. Though data from the UK Health Security Agency has shown that cases are rising in all regions in England, with the East Midlands having [...]
Sunak deaf to industry calls to overhaul business rates October 14, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ignored calls from industry chiefs to shake up the business rate regime at the next budget. According to The Telegraph, government plans to overhaul the business rate system have been “thrown into the long grass”. The Chancellor has not had enough time to consider the effects of wholesale changes to the [...]
TfL moves to open Night Tube next month on Central and Victoria lines October 14, 2021 Sadiq Khan has announced today that the Night Tube will be back open next month on the network’s two largest lines. The 24-hour weekend London Underground service will resume on the Central and Victoria lines, after being suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes after a wave of complaints in recent weeks [...]
Pension savers fear higher fees as Sunak eyes extra infrastructure cash October 14, 2021 Ministers are reportedly mulling a decision to dilute the 0.75 per cent cap on annual management fees, which would leave UK retirement savers vulnerable to high charges. The cap, put in place in 2016, protects employees who are auto-enrolled into their pensions from having their retirement pot eaten into by higher charges. It comes as [...]