Sadiq Khan pledges to spend more on London economy in election campaign launch March 4, 2021 Sadiq Khan will today launch his re-election campaign by promising to spend more of his £16bn City Hall Budget on the capital’s economic recovery, including creating a new fund to get people back to London’s West End. Khan will say in a speech later this afternoon that he will focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs” if [...]
Budget 2021: Main points in Rishi Sunak’s announcement March 4, 2021 The chancellor unveiled the contents of his Budget in the Commons this afternoon, announcing a raft of new support measures alongside plans to shore up Britain’s finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rishi Sunak doubled down on his commitment to do “whatever it takes” to protect lives and livelihoods as he set out [...]
Nicola Sturgeon refutes claims of misleading Scottish Parliament after giving evidence March 3, 2021 Nicola Sturgeon rejected claims she could have intervened more after giving evidence in Alex Salmond inquiry
Brexit: EU raises ‘strong concerns’ about grace period extension March 3, 2021 The EU will raise “strong concerns” about Britain’s extension of a grace period for checks on agricultural and food products heading to Northern Ireland, the vice president of the European Commission has said. Maros Sefcovic said he will speak to David Frost, the Prime Minister’s Europe Adviser, on the implementation of EU-UK agreements tonight. “I’ll [...]
Budget 2021: Keir Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘papering over the cracks’ March 3, 2021 Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at Rishi Sunak’s Budget, accusing the chancellor of “papering over the cracks” in his spending plans. The Labour leader said the chancellor was the person “actually making the decisions” in government, but said these decisions had “left us with the mess we find today”. Starmer accused Sunak of delivering [...]
Brexit disruption to shave 0.5 per cent off GDP as UK starts its recovery March 3, 2021 Post-Brexit disruption to UK-EU trade will reduce the UK’s first quarter GDP growth by 0.5 per cent, according to the government’s budgetary watchdog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in its forecast today that customs disruptions at the EU border and a drop in the number of lorries travelling between the UK and EU [...]
Budget 2021: Big business to pay off UK’s Covid debt burden with £45bn corporation tax rises March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak will make the UK’s big businesses pay off the country’s Covid spending, with £45bn of corporation tax rises to hit companies with profits over £250,000 the hardest. Corporation tax will rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent by 2023 for UK companies with annual profits of £250,000 or higher, however a [...]
Budget watchdog predicts UK Covid restrictions to last into autumn March 3, 2021 The UK’s budgetary watchdog is expecting Covid restrictions to last well past the government’s 21 June target date. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in its economic forecast today that it expected Covid curbs like travel restrictions, local lockdowns, limits on large gatherings and guidance on home working to continue into the autumn. This [...]
Spac revolution set to unlock Big Bang 2.0 for the City of London March 3, 2021 The UK is set to spark a second Big Bang for the City post-Brexit, with a landmark government report calling for regulators to allow Spacs to list in London and ease a range of share listing restrictions. Lord Jonathan Hill’s report into future financial services regulation, released today, calls for a range of deregulatory measures [...]
Budget: OBR forecasts stronger than expected UK economic recovery March 3, 2021 The UK’s economy will have a stronger bounce back from the coronavirus crisis than previously expected with unemployment set to peak at a far lower level, according to new economic forecasts from the government’s Budget watchdog. Sunak said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) now predicts the UK’s GDP will return to pre-crisis levels by [...]