The Festival of Words: From Gyles Brandreth to Anthony Scaramucci – all you need to know about the Fleet Street Quarter festival
Before the Bell: Boris heads to Brussels December 9, 2020 After a negative start to the week on Monday, markets in Europe trod water yesterday, awaiting the next developments as we head towards the final denouement of the saga of the EU/UK trade talks, while the first day of the vaccine rollout in the UK also drew a lot of attention. “Ordinarily an event such [...]
Britain ditches controversial Internal Market Bill clause in Brexit divorce deal December 8, 2020 The government will ditch parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that would have seen the UK break international law, after reaching an “agreement in principle” on Brexit divorce issues. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said he was “delighted” to have reached a compromise with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovicon on post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. [...]
Sadiq Khan launches £1m Resilience Fund for London’s post-pandemic recovery December 4, 2020 The Mayor of London announced the launch of a £1m Resilience Fund, partnering community groups and innovation experts to tackle London’s most pressing challenges. The Resilience Fund will be delivered in partnership with Nesta Challenges, an innovation foundation. Local authorities, public agencies, social enterprise will be asked to identify specific challenges they need solved. Sadiq [...]
Crossrail employs 140 drivers on £62k more than a year before line is due to open December 4, 2020 Crossrail has employed 140 drivers to operate its trains in central London, even though trial runs will not start until next year. Drivers’ union Aslef confirmed that pay for Crossrail drivers is set at £62,533 per year with a 2 per cent pay rise due to come into place next April. Transport for London (TfL) [...]
O Come, Emmanuel: Hopes of Brexit trade deal run thin as Macron toughens stance December 4, 2020 The latest Brexit talks between the UK and EU “did not go well”, according to reports, as British officials accused French President Emmanuel Macron of making fresh demands at the eleventh hour. Macron is understood to have remained unwavering in his demand that France preserves a substantial portion of existing fishing rights in British waters [...]
Biden names top economic advisers as Arizona, Wisconsin certify vote results December 3, 2020 Biden officially names Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary, setting stage for a more diverse White House
Dr Fauci joins EU leaders in slamming Britain for swift vaccine approval December 3, 2020 American chief medical adviser has joined the EU in slamming Britain’s swift approval of the Pfizer/Biontech coronavirus vaccine. “If you go quickly and you do it superficially, people are not going to want to get vaccinated,” America’s top immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci told Fox News. “We have the gold standard of a regulatory approach with [...]
Only 3,600 households have signed up to Sadiq Khan’s energy company December 3, 2020 Fewer than 4,000 London households have signed up to Sadiq Khan’s green energy company that he set up this year for £3.2m. City Hall figures shows that London Power has just 3,658 customers, meaning City Hall has spent £875 per customer. London Power, which is run by Octopus Energy, was set up by City Hall [...]
Pfizer vaccine to be rolled out across 50 hospital hubs from next week December 2, 2020 Around 50 hospital hubs around England will start offering the Pfizer vaccine to patients and staff in care homes from next week, the chief executive of the NHS has announced. Speaking at this evening’s Downing Street press conference, Simon Stephens said the NHS would also start sending letters out next week inviting vulnerable members of [...]
What counts as a substantial meal under new Tier 2 rules for pubs? December 2, 2020 Scotch eggs were first mentioned in the House of Commons in 1979 by Labour MP George Cunningham, who said the proposed introduction of pub meals was little more than a decoy to sell more booze. Pub food would “likely result in the sale of liquor — and that is what we are talking about rather [...]