City of London lobby urges EU to grant UK financial services firms widespread access to its markets February 2, 2021 The City of London’s most influential lobby group has urged Brussels to grant Britain’s finance sector wide-ranging post-Brexit access as talks between the UK and EU on financial services continue. The CityUK today called for the EU to grant regulatory equivalence to the sector, while also calling for the UK government to provide more clarity [...]
Forget the BBC, as Ofcom chair Paul Dacre would get his teeth into tech February 2, 2021 Almost a year after Priti Patel vowed to make Ofcom a regulator with teeth, the government looks poised to appoint Fleet Street Rottweiler Paul Dacre as its new chair. No one could accuse her of underdelivering. For many, Dacre’s political leanings (characterised by some as so far to the right as to be almost horizontal) [...]
The UK has applied to join the CPTPP trading bloc – but what is it? February 1, 2021 The UK government last week formally applied to join the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trading bloc, ushering in a new post-Brexit era. International trade secretary Liz Truss told the BBC yesterday that a potential entry into the bloc would secure “future growth” as the UK would move closer to developing, [...]
Report calls on Government and FCA to ‘consider consequences’ for BoE boss Andrew Bailey over LCF collapse February 1, 2021 The Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must consider what action to take against Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and two officials over their handling of LCF, the author of a report about the collapsed fund told MPs today.
Covid: Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ Brits can book summer holidays in 2021 February 1, 2021 Boris Johnson has today said he is “optimistic” Brits will be able to go on summer holidays this year, after Covid restrictions are eased. The Prime Minister said he could not give “concrete” details for when travel will be allowed and that “some things have got to go right”, like the UK’s vaccine rollout. The [...]
Best of travel: From Canada to Mexico to find Trump’s legacy February 1, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Ashwin Bhandari’s coast-to-coast trip across America to try to understand the Trump phenomenon. ••• The Seattle skyline, with the iconic Space Needle against the backdrop of Mt Rainier, may be familiar from TV [...]
After Brexit border backdown, the EU in new push with Astrazeneca to get more vaccine deliveries February 1, 2021 Talks between Astrazeneca and the European Commission will continue, despite strains, so that the bloc can recieve more of the pharmaceutical's Covid-19 vaccine before the end of March.
Rishi Sunak set to release Covid recovery plan this month February 1, 2021 Rishi Sunak will release a plan for the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery this month alongside Boris Johnson’s roadmap of how the country will ease the current lockdown. The plan will reportedly include a medium-term strategy for how the UK will boost investment and skills as the economy starts its recovery, and will be released before [...]
CBI calls for government to consult business more widely to draw up lockdown exit plan February 1, 2021 One of the UK’s mot influential business bodies has called on the government to reach out to the country’s private sector for advice on how to reopen the economy post-lockdown. The CBI has written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to ask the government to outline six elements when drawing up its lockdown exit strategy, including [...]
New UK Covid cases down 33 per cent over the past week January 31, 2021 The UK recorded another 21,088 Covid cases today, with the seven-day average falling by 32.5 per cent this week. Government figures also showed another 587 people died from Covid in the UK today, which brings the seven-day figure to 8,219 – a 5.3 per cent week-on-week drop. Patients admitted to hospital over the past seven [...]