UK risks being ‘incubator economy’ with tech firms moving abroad, Lords warn February 3, 2025 The UK is at risk of becoming an “incubator economy” with tech firms moving abroad, if action is not taken to support companies to scale up, a group of Lords has warned. Britain must do a better job supporting UK-based artificial intelligence (AI) and creative technology start-ups to grow into global competitors, the House of [...]
‘Unsustainable’ sickness benefits cost UK more than defence, Lords warn January 20, 2025 The UK is spending more on “financially unsustainable” sickness benefits than defence, and “urgent” reform to the welfare system is needed to rein in costs, a group of Lords has said. In a letter to the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs committee said the current benefits system penalises people [...]
Brady’s Football Regulator views are desperate protests, say governance firm January 16, 2025 Governance experts have hit out at Baroness Karren Brady over her stance on the Football Governance Bill, claiming she’s making “desperate protests” in the House of Lords on behalf of the Premier League. The West Ham United chair slammed accusations that the Premier League was effectively dragging its feet over topics relating to the Football [...]
Baroness Brady rebukes ‘wrong’ Football Governance Bill accusations in Lords January 15, 2025 Baroness Brady launched a sensational rebuke in the Football Governance Bill discussion in the House of Lords last night, defending the Premier League against accusations of effectively dragging its feet. West Ham United chair and Apprentice sidekick Baroness Brady tabled six of the 150-plus amendments that were placed on the record after the government introduced [...]
‘Don’t squander the scientific opportunity of a lifetime’, Lords warns UK January 14, 2025 The UK must take urgent action to reverse its declining leadership in engineering biology to avoid ‘squandering the scientific opportunity of a lifetime’. The House of Lords released a report today cautioning that without bold government intervention and increased private sector investment, Britain risks losing out on vast economic potential. Engineering biology, an evolving field [...]
Football regulator: Fight over Brady-backed ‘sunset clause’ hots up January 13, 2025 Conservative peers including West Ham United chair Karren Brady are this week expected to step up their push for a “sunset clause” that critics fear will render the incoming independent football regulator toothless. The sunset clause would allow for the football regulator to be scrapped after a set period time, likely to be five years, [...]
Six months on, Labour’s pledge to restore trust in politics has proven nonsense January 7, 2025 Six months on, where have Labour's promises of radical reform gone, asks James Chapman in today's Notebook.
Independent Football Regulator hires head of legal from CMA January 6, 2025 The incoming football regulator has appointed a head of legal as it steps up plans to begin its work in earnest in 2025. David Riley this week left his role as legal director of the Competition and Markets Authority to take up a role with the football body, where he will head up the legal [...]
Political deaths in 2024: The well-known names we lost in the last year December 30, 2024 Whether a former deputy Prime Minister infamous for throwing a punch, to a Scottish independence campaigner and former First Minister, 2024 saw the deaths of several political heavyweights. As the year draws to a close, we look back at the lives of some well-known Westminster names who have died over the past 12 months. Derek [...]
New jobs for former Chancellor Philip Hammond and Labour’s Iain McNicol December 2, 2024 The former Chancellor and the former general secretary of the Labour Party Lord Iain McNicol have joined the board of a tax consultancy