Brexit is ‘settled’, Sir Keir Starmer says amid calls for customs deal with EU February 2, 2025 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected suggestions the UK will rejoin the EU, saying the decision is “settled” as he faces calls to broker a customs union with the bloc. The Prime Minister will meet European Council leaders on Monday as he continues efforts to “reset” Britain’s relationship with the trade bloc. The focus [...]
Yvette Cooper defends Sir Keir Starmer amid ‘HR manager’ claims February 2, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer stands for “respect and hard work”, one of his most senior ministers has said after the Prime Minister was likened to “an HR manager”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the Plan for Change – a set of milestones which the Prime Minister fronted – as “clear”, when asked about Sir Keir’s alleged [...]
Starmer accused of ‘fudging the facts’ of his schooling by education expert February 1, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has faced accusations of “fudging the facts” about his education, from the founder of a social mobility charity. Sutton Trust founder Sir Peter Lampl, who went to the same school as the Prime Minister, Reigate Grammar, made the claim as he attacked the government’s plans to charge VAT on private school fees. [...]
Rachel Reeves says tax-hiking Budget was needed to stop economic calamity January 30, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended her tax-hiking Budget today, saying that without the changes to national insurance, the government would have lost control of the economy. Speaking on Time Radio this morning, Reeves said she recognises there are “consequences to increasing National Insurance,” but the “consequences of irresponsibility would have been far greater” had the [...]
Fine words from Reeves – now let’s get Britain building January 29, 2025 Rachel Reeves is right to make reforming our sclerotic planning system the centrepiece of her economic strategy. But if she’s going to succeed she must consign the bat tunnels and fish discos that too often block development to the dustbin of history, says Sam Richards In 2014 winter sports fans were getting ready for the [...]
‘Not a second to waste’: City of London calls for action to back up Reeves plans January 29, 2025 The City of London has warned the government there “isn’t a second to waste” in pushing through its growth plans today after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out proposals designed to kickstart investment into the economy. In a speech in Oxfordshire, Reeves looked to reset the government’s economic agenda in a speech which committed to [...]
‘Deregulation is essential’: Starmer vows to slash red tape in bid for growth January 29, 2025 Keir Starmer vowed to deregulate Britain and cut through “thickets of red tape” today as he tried to reboot his government’s handling of the economy following months of anaemic growth and criticism from business. In an article for the Times, the Prime Minister wrote “deregulation is essential” and warned investors were shunning the UK due [...]
Rachel Reeves to unveil £65m investment in EV charging firm January 29, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil a £65m investment into an electric car charging company as part of a much-anticipated growth speech on Wednesday. City AM understands the new National Wealth Fund (NWF) will take an equity stake in Connected Kerb alongside Aviva Investors, the global asset management branch of Aviva Group. The NWF will commit [...]
Grow, baby, grow… but will Labour’s growth agenda be enough? January 29, 2025 City AM’s politics reporter, Jessica Frank-Keyes, unpacks the week in Westminster. Today, she tackles Labour’s growing promises. Picture a graph with the x axis stretching from 1800 to the present day. The data is represented as a fairly flat line along the bottom, up to about 1960. Then it bumps around at about a quarter [...]
Rachel Reeves vows to fight for economic growth January 28, 2025 The Chancellor will declare that “growth won’t come without a fight” as she unveils her plan to turnaround Britain’s ailing economy with billions of pounds of investment and new infrastructure projects. Reeves will pledge an £80bn boom to the economy from a new Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor in a move that comes after the pensions industry [...]