Why is the UK economy poised to tumble into a recession and fall behind Europe, US and even Russia? February 16, 2023 Britain avoided a much-tipped recession at the end of last year. Phew. “However, we are not out of the woods yet,” warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after last Friday’s GDP figures from the ONS revealed the economy stagnated at the end of 2022, meaning it narrowly avoided the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of [...]
Boris Johnson brands ULEZ expansion a ‘mad lefty tax’ February 15, 2023 Boris Johnson has branded Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand the ULEZ across the capital a “mad lefty tax” and accused him of “bankrupting TfL”. The ex-prime minister and London mayor weighed in on the row over the controversial scheme, which would see drivers of non-compliant vehicles charged £12.50 a day. In a video posted on [...]
Bill Gates says Britain has ‘all the ingredients’ to be a net-zero leader February 15, 2023 Tech billionaire Bill Gates has said the UK has “all the ingredients” to lead the world on net zero, after he met with prime minister Rishi Sunak at a clean tech summit. Firms including Undaunted, Clean Growth Fund and Legal and General Capital met today to launch Cleantech for UK, a trade coalition worth £6bn. [...]
Four rebel Labour MPs reveal opposition to Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion plans February 15, 2023 Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand ULEZ has hit a further roadblock after four Labour MPs came out against the scheme. Seema Malhotra, Jon Cruddas, Siobhain McDonagh and Abena Oppong-Asare all told LBC they had concerns about the policy’s impact. Khan wants to extend the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) and the £12.50 daily charge [...]
Nicola Sturgeon quits as Scotland’s First Minister but insists resignation is ‘not a reaction to short-term pressures’ February 15, 2023 Nicola Sturgeon has resigned from her role as first minister of Scotland following a series of political setbacks. Speaking in Edinburgh this morning, Sturgeon said serving as first minister had been a “privilege beyond measure” as she announced her resignation. She confirmed she would stay in office until a replacement had been chosen and indicated [...]
Nicola Sturgeon: SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister expected to resign February 15, 2023 Nicola Sturgeon will stand down as First Minister of Scotland after eight years, the BBC has reported. The First Minister will speak at a hastily-arranged press conference from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh at 11am. It is not yet clear if she will stand down immediately, or continue in the role until a new Scottish [...]
Keir Starmer confirms Jeremy Corbyn will NOT stand for Labour at next election February 15, 2023 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a candidate for the party at the next general election. It came as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced they were concluding their monitoring of the party following an investigation into antisemitism. The former leader had the party whip suspended [...]
Twitter: Musk wants new CEO by end of year, as he warns of AI regulation and insists there are no aliens February 15, 2023 Billionaire Elon Musk has said he anticipates finding a chief executive for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year”. Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him. “I think I need to stabilise the organisation [...]
Labour Party monitoring by equality body ends, EHRC confirms February 15, 2023 The Labour Party will no longer be monitored by a key equality body following a scandal surrounding antisemitism among its membership during the Corbyn era, the EHRC has said. Human rights institution the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will now end its work with the party, after the regulator confirmed it was content with [...]
London to face second-lowest rise in council tax among UK regions February 14, 2023 Cash-strapped Londoners are set for a slight boost as it emerged that the region is set to raise average council tax rates by the second-lowest amount in the UK. Of the councils who have declared their municipal tariffs for 2022-23, London boroughs collectively came in second from the bottom of the pile, at a 4.4 [...]