‘Open for business’: Ministers head to Gulf states in bid to boost UK trade links September 16, 2024 Senior ministers are heading to the Gulf states for talks on boosting the UK’s economy via expanding trade links with the region and attracting international investment. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and trade minister Douglas Alexander are flying to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on their first joint international visit since the election, with Alexander then set to [...]
UK will become less attractive for firms if workers’ rights reforms are passed, CBI survey finds September 15, 2024 The UK is likely to become a less attractive place to do business in the coming years if Labour’s workers’ rights reforms are implemented in their current form, a new survey has suggested. Some 62 per cent of respondents to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey and recruiters Pertemps said they [...]
Donated clothes helped Starmer’s ‘look their best’, Lammy claims September 15, 2024 Donated clothes given to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria were to help them “look their best” to represent the UK, David Lammy has argued. Speaking to the BBC, the foreign secretary said in countries like the US, leaders “have a huge budget paid for by the taxpayer so that they look [...]
Labour to soften 2030 petrol car ban by extending hybrid sales deadline September 15, 2024 Labour is planning to allow hybrid vehicles to be sold until 2035 amid concern over a slowdown in EV sales.
Lammy: West won’t be bullied by Putin over Ukraine missile talks September 15, 2024 The West will not be bullied by Vladimir Putin’s threat of all-out war with Nato if Ukraine is given permission to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, David Lammy has said. The foreign secretary said talks were continuing with the US and allies about giving Kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to [...]
Triple Point: Social housing firm bets on Labour boost September 13, 2024 A listed social housing investor said the industry is set for a boost under the Labour government today as ministers prepare to tear up planning laws and kick off a housebuilding drive. Triple Point, which invests in supported accommodation, said in its half-year results that it is expecting a period of “greater political stability” that is [...]
Retail group calls for ‘rates corrector’ in next Budget September 13, 2024 High business rates and other bills have led to an overtaxing of the retail industry compared to its size in terms of GDP, according to fresh data. The British Retail Consortium found that retail pays 7.4 per cent of all business taxes – £33bn – a share 1.5 times greater than its share of the [...]
Government must ‘offer hope’ to attract investment, CBI chief to argue September 12, 2024 The government must “have and offer hope” in order to attract global investors to bet on and back Britain, the chief executive of the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) will argue. In a rejection of No10 and the Treasury’s gloomy economic language, Rain Newton-Smith will use the CBI’s annual dinner in Glasgow to call for [...]
Renters’ Rights Bill: What is it and what does it mean for the market? September 12, 2024 Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which landlord groups have said will be the biggest change in the sector for over thirty years, entered parliament this week. Legislation will be introduced “to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes”, including removing no-fault evictions, tightening housing standards and loosening rules on pet ownership, King Charles [...]
Major NHS reforms will ‘take a decade’, Keir Starmer warns September 12, 2024 A series of major reforms to the NHS will “take a decade” and won’t be “universally popular”, Sir Keir Starmer has warned in a speech about the future of the UK’s healthcare system. The Prime Minister pledged that his Labour government “will always make the investment in our NHS that is needed… even in difficult [...]