Budget: Rishi Sunak’s ‘age of optimism’ boosted by higher growth forecast post-Covid October 27, 2021 The Chancellor is planning to strike an upbeat tone as he talks up building a “stronger economy of the future” in his Budget, later today, with the promise of rising wages, cash for the NHS and investment into regional transport projects. Rishi Sunak will hail a “new age of optimism” and he will have more [...]
Sunak to hail Budget as ushering in ‘new post-Covid economy’ but Brits await detail October 27, 2021 Billions of pounds of funding for the NHS and wage rises for millions of workers will make Rishi Sunak hail his Budget as ushering in a “new economy” after the coronavirus pandemic. The Chancellor is to bill his tax and spending plans today as preparing an “economy fit for a new age of optimism” as [...]
Budget Day: All eyes are on Rishi Sunak’s tax and spending plans October 27, 2021 With all the briefings that have been taking place since the weekend there would appear to be little in the way of surprises when the Chancellor of the Exchequer gets up to speak later today. Most of the content appears to have already been pre-briefed much to the displeasure of the Speaker of the House [...]
HS2 trains on Yorkshire leg will run on existing track as part of government scaling back October 24, 2021 As part of the UK Government’s scaling back on the HS2 project, high-speed trains will run on existing tracks between Yorkshire and the Midlands, the Independent reported exclusively. In addition to a station in Leeds, the government is said to build only a new line to connect the city to South Yorkshire, leaving high-speed trains [...]
Budget: Chancellor admits transport investments will get £1.5bn of new money October 24, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted that out of the £7bn pledged for transport investments, only £1.5bn has not yet been allocated, the Independent reported. Speaking this morning on Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Sunak said the government “topped that up by £1.5bn” when asked about the actual amount of funding that will come from new money. [...]
Transport, research and skills: £20bn of investments announced ahead of Budget October 24, 2021 When Rishi Sunak delivers his second Budget in a year this Wednesday, there may not be many surprises left after investments totalling more than £20bn were announced over the weekend. The Chancellor will head to the Commons with a focus on levelling up transport links outside London, research and development in health, and a “skills [...]
Shapps echoes Sunak saying Christmas gifts will be available October 16, 2021 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has echoed Chancellor Rishi Sunak and said that Christmas gifts will be available despite the backlogs witnessed at UK ports. “People will be able to get things for Christmas,” he told Sky News. “When I talk to the ports they said it is a busy picture, but if you compared us [...]
Sunak to use September figures for autumn Budget October 16, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has asked the UK Office for Budget Responsibility to close its pre-policy measure forecast at the end of September. “Our pre-policy measures forecast was closed earlier than usual in response to a request from the Chancellor for more time to complete the Spending Review as well as the Budget (as was the [...]
Sunak tells Brits not to worry: There will be a ‘good amount’ of Christmas presents October 14, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told Brits not to worry about their Christmas presents this year, saying there will be a “good amount of presents available” even though supply chain issues continue to persist. Sunak was speaking after meeting with finance ministers from the G7 group of leading world economies to talk about the problem, with [...]
Sunak causes rift with Cabinet over EV discount end October 13, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly in a row with other Cabinet members – including transport secretary Grant Shapps and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng – over his proposed plans to cut grants for buying electric vehicles (EV). As reported by the Telegraph, the Treasury is expected to slash the grants – which amount to £2,500 for [...]