Tories see vaccine bounce to take five-point poll lead over Labour February 14, 2021 New polling has revealed a post-vaccine bounce for the government, with the Tories now leading Labour by five points. The Opinium poll has Boris Johnson’s Conservatives at 42 per cent and Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour on 37 per cent. The jump has coincided with the government’s rollout of the vaccine, which has been among the [...]
Scotland to Northern Ireland underwater tunnel could be green lit next month February 14, 2021 An underwater tunnel connecting Great Britain and Northern Ireland could get the green light as early as next month. The tunnel, which could be dubbed Boris’ Burrow, would help ease post-Brexit tensions, after Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement created checks for some goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy [...]
City of London’s biggest competition post-Brexit will not be EU, says Raab February 14, 2021 The UK’s financial services industry will face its biggest post-Brexit competition from Asia and the US, according to foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Raab said EU financial capitals may “nick a bit of business here and there from the City”, but that they will not challenge London’s status as Europe’s global financial capital. It comes as Amsterdam [...]
Trump impeachment: Trial extended after Senate votes to call witnesses February 13, 2021 The impeachment trial of former US President Donald Trump has been extended after the Senate voted to allow witnesses. The decision came after it emerged that Trump told a top Republican during the assault on the Capitol that the rioters were “more upset” about his election defeat than politicians. The vote, which passed 55-45 in [...]
Covid-19: Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ lockdown can be eased soon February 13, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said he was optimistic he would be able to announce the easing of some Covid-19 lockdown measures soon as the UK’s vaccine rollout continues at pace. The prime minister, who will unveil his “roadmap” for ending the lockdown on 22 February, said he would prioritise aims to reopen schools from [...]
Rishi Sunak mulls six-week extension to stamp duty holiday February 13, 2021 Rishi Sunak is said to be considering a six-week extension to the stamp duty holiday to prevent thousands of house sales from falling through. The chancellor is mulling a time-limited extension to mid-May in a bid to ease fears that buyers could be caught in a “completion trap” as the current March 31 deadline looms, [...]
Matt Hancock: UK could live with Covid ‘like flu’ by end of year February 13, 2021 Vaccines and treatments mean Covid-19 could become a disease we live with “like we do with flu” by the end of the year, Matt Hancock has said. The health secretary said new drugs designed to tackle the virus could arrive in 2021, helping to make Covid a “treatable” disease. In an interview with the Daily [...]
London and UK trade bodies slammed for talks with Chinese tech linked to Uighur surveillance February 12, 2021 City Hall and trade department slammed for talks to Chinese firm linked to Uighur Muslim surviellance
Rishi Sunak doubles down on 2021 deadline for global tech tax deal February 12, 2021 Rishi Sunak has doubled down on a commitment to establish a new global tax on tech firms in the coming months following years of conflict over a new regime targeting Silicon Valley. In a G7 meeting today the chancellor said the new digital tax framework was a “key priority” and called on member nations to [...]
Screenshot: Should online harms laws take on the hackers and pirates? February 12, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Ya boi in Hanoi **Who’s taking on the online hackers and pirates? **Will Big Tech finally cough up for news? Media Moment of the Week: Ya boi in Hanoi Tempted as I was to feature *that* cat lawyer this week, I think perhaps, to borrow Michael Gove’s words, [...]