No 10 won’t confirm new City Minister’s role in China policy January 15, 2025 Downing Street has declined to confirm whether new City minister Emma Reynolds will be able to make decisions about the UK’s relationship with China. She was appointed to the post of economic secretary to the Treasury yesterday, after Tulip Siddiq resigned over allegations of corruption linked to the former government in Bangladesh. Bloomberg reported that [...]
PMQs: Starmer insists Reeves will be Chancellor for ‘many years to come’ January 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor for “many years to come” as Kemi Badenoch lambasted her for losing the confidence of the markets. During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, the Conservative leader hit out at Reeves, arguing: “The Prime Minister claims he has full confidence in the Chancellor, [...]
Tulip mania was only ever going to end one way January 15, 2025 Yesterday, I asked whether Tulip Siddiq would still be the City minister by the end of the day, and just as the sun went down we got an answer: nope. Here in the City AM newsroom we shall miss the standing agenda item in our editorial meetings, checking the latest twist of an international corruption [...]
Roundhead Reeves is effectively banning nightclubs through tax January 15, 2025 There has been an alarming decline in people going to nightclubs and Rachel Reeves growth-killing, fun-banning Budget is partly to blame. Fortunately there are some simple solutions to bringing back the big night out, says James Price The philosopher Ted Mosby, in his magnum opus How I Met Your Mother, once opined that: “Nothing good [...]
‘Budget hasn’t worked’: Reeves defends China trip as Stride says Brits ‘deserve better’ January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has defended her trip to China amid economic turmoil in the UK as MPs argued her Budget “hasn’t worked” and insisted: “The British people deserve better.” The Chancellor appeared in the House of Commons for the first time since last week’s bond market shock threw her public spending plans and fiscal rules into [...]
Reeves is in a fiscal trap and spending cuts are the only way out January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Budget created a vicious circle whereby higher taxes increased borrowing costs, squeezing the public purse and further and tempting the Chancellor into further tax rises to meet fiscal targets. There is another way, says Darwin Friend Rachel Reeves is trapped in a vicious fiscal circle of her own making. Her high-tax budget, billed [...]
‘Nothing off the table’: Public spending cuts to be ‘ruthless’, cabinet warned January 13, 2025 Public spending cuts are set to be “ruthless”, the Treasury has reportedly warned cabinet ministers. Departments will have to make “difficult” decisions on their budget priorities, according to an internal letter from No11 about the spending review, the Telegraph reported. While the Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed “there’s nothing off the table when it comes [...]
Transparency group calls for Siddiq to step back from anti-corruption brief January 13, 2025 Embattled City minister Tulip Siddiq should relinquish the economic crime and corruption element of her remit in light of ongoing investigations, the UK’s leading anti-corruption body has said. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition (UKACC), a group of leading British transparency organisations, said in a statement that Siddiq “has a serious conflict of interests”, irrespective of the [...]
UK airport growth shows no signs of slowing as key expansion decisions loom January 13, 2025 Surging passenger traffic at UK airports has shown no signs of slowing as officials continue to deliberate over key expansion decisions in the coming months. Both Heathrow and London Stansted reported record annual passenger numbers on Monday, with 84m and 30m flyers passing through each hubs’ gates in 2024. The figures will come as little [...]
Starmer declines to confirm Reeves will be Chancellor at next election January 13, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has declined to confirm that Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor at the next general election. The Prime Minister was asked about Reeves’ role following a speech in London on artificial intelligence (AI) and insisted he was “completely confident” in her. However, he declined to guarantee she would still be in post at [...]