Public Health England dropped the ball on the pandemic — but the new restructuring offers hope September 7, 2020 Mike Tyson’s infamous line about everyone having a plan until they get punched in the mouth could be the epitaph for Public Health England. The quango made many mistakes in its response to Covid-19, but planning for an influenza epidemic was perhaps the most fatal. PHE had swine flu, rather than the SARS coronavirus, in [...]
Putin holds all the cards in Belarus September 7, 2020 One of the greatest problems in political risk analysis is that the heart so often gets the better of the head. Because we want a political outcome to happen, we think that it will. Karmic justice must apply to all situations in history, with the good rewarded and the bad punished. But this is to [...]
Boris Johnson says a no-deal exit from EU would be ‘a good outcome’ September 6, 2020 Boris Johnson has said leaving the post-Brexit transition period without a trade deal would be “a good outcome” as he sets 15 October as the deadline to reach an agreement with Brussels. Johnson said in a statement that “there is no sense” in thinking about negotiating timelines beyond 15 October, but that “there is still [...]
Exclusive: Central London will not be busy any time soon, says Sadiq Khan September 6, 2020 Sadiq Khan has admitted central London will not be “anywhere near” pre-Covid levels for months to come as he prepares to survey businesses about their back to office plans. The London mayor told City A.M. in an exclusive interview – released tomorrow in full – that office and public transport social distancing rules meant central [...]
Rishi Sunak plans to raise taxes now and cut them before next election September 6, 2020 Rishi Sunak is reportedly planning to raise taxes in the autumn budget with a view to cutting them just in time for the next General Election. Sunak met with Boris Johnson last week to plan the government’s fiscal response to the debt wracked up during the coronavirus crisis, with tax rises set to hit the [...]
Brexit: UK ‘won’t blink’ in EU trade talks, says chief negotiator September 6, 2020 The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has warned the EU it will “not blink” in negotiations as fears grow that a no-deal exit is on the cards. Talks are set to resume between the UK and EU in London next week, with both sides deadlocked over several key issues. The deadline for the deal [...]
Treasury set to reject City coronavirus loan refinance plan September 4, 2020 The Treasury is reportedly set to reject a City of London plan for a new state-owned organisation that would refinance the billions of pounds of emergency coronavirus loans lent to UK companies. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to rebuff plans put forward by a group led by trade body The City UK and audit firm [...]
Logistics groups call for ‘urgent’ meeting with government over Brexit border disruption September 4, 2020 The UK’s leading logistics and customs groups have called for “urgent” meetings with ministers to discuss Brexit border issues over their fears the supply chain “will be severely disrupted”. Eight groups called for an “urgent roundtable meeting” with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, chancellor Rishi Sunak and Transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Our concern is so [...]
Covid-19 does not prove the case for Scottish independence — if anything it does the opposite September 4, 2020 Scotland has had a “good” pandemic. Nicola Sturgeon has excelled. The incompetence of the government south of the border proves once and for all that an independent Scotland would flourish. Or so the Scottish Nationalists will tell you. And it seems to be working. While Boris Johnson was hospitalised and convalescing after his own brush [...]
More than 100m meals eaten through Eat Out to Help Out scheme September 4, 2020 More than 100m meals were eaten in August as a part of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme for a total cost to the Treasury of £522m. The latest figures show there was a large uptick in take up of the scheme in the final two weeks of August, after 35m meals were [...]