Government price tag for making tax digital has ballooned, report warns June 12, 2023 The credibility of the government’s plans to allow people to file their tax bills digitally has been undermined by repeated delays and a bill that has increased about sixfold, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. The official auditors said that the final bill is currently expected to be £1.3bn, an increase of more than [...]
Ex-Autoglass boss to donate £5m to Labour in bid to smash Tories at election June 5, 2023 The former Autoglass chief Gary Lubner is set to donate £5m to Labour to bolster its coffers ahead of the next election battle. The South African-born businessman told the Financial Times he had wanted to help Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer get the party into power “for a long time”. He said: “This is the [...]
London seals European finance investment crown every year since Brexit June 5, 2023 London is beating away the dire warnings that Brexit would knock it off its perch as Europe’s top finance hive and is even drawing in more investors amid high inflation and interest rates, a new report out today unveils. Foreign investors pumped cash into 46 financial services projects in the capital last year, up from [...]
Starmer says Britain’s Brexit future is OUTSIDE of the EU under Labour May 31, 2023 Britain’s future is outside the EU, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he promised to make Brexit work. Writing in the Daily Express newspaper, Sir Keir – who campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum – also said he would not be seeking a return to freedom of movement. The comments are Sir [...]
Government sends Fever-Tree mixers and a cricket shirt down under to celebrate post-Brexit trade deal May 31, 2023 The UK’s trade deals with Australia and New Zealand came into force at midnight, with special shipments of British goods such as signed Beano comics among the first to be sent under the new arrangements. The agreements are the first trade deals negotiated post-Brexit to enter into force and come after the UK, Australia and [...]
Net migration figures present collision between facts and feelings for Sunak May 25, 2023 Net migration figures have hit record highs – to the surprise of precisely no one. Expectation management is a vital piece of the political toolkit. That much-touted 1,000-seat loss in the local election results was brought out in advance as an over-the-top figure designed to give the electorate a happy surprise – but, to the [...]
Plans to boost scrutiny of regulators don’t go far enough, experts argue May 24, 2023 New plans to boost oversight of financial regulators have been criticised by experts, as the government responds to concerns that watchdogs face too little scrutiny. Earlier this week, the it was reported that the Treasury is planning to beef up the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner (FRCC) in order to more robustly hold regulators to account. [...]
EU remains firm on post-Brexit clearing plans despite pressure on both sides of the Channel May 24, 2023 The EU is set to reject calls to rethink its approach to the clearing business despite mounting pressure on both sides of the Channel. The EU’s financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness said the plans were vital to the EU’s “financial resilience”. “I want to underline that this matter is actually not so much about Brexit. [...]
City breathes sigh of relief: Draft MoU on post Brexit UK-EU financial services welcomed May 23, 2023 Figures in the City seemed to breathe a sigh of relief following the publication of a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on financial services between the UK and EU last week. Released last Friday, the agreement commits the two to “jointly endeavour to pursue a robust and ambitious bilateral regulatory cooperation in the area of [...]
Sadiq Khan hosts crunch business talks with City figures May 23, 2023 Sadiq Khan has warned London’s businesses are facing “the most difficult period in living memory” as a result of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis. The Mayor of London has called for the government to devolve some immigration powers to City Hall as a means of tackling regional labour shortages sparked by the [...]