Rachel Reeves eyeing spending cuts in spring January 10, 2025 Rachel Reeves is considering cutting departmental spending as UK borrowing costs soar, despite risks it could “dampen” activity and “further dent anaemic” growth. The Chancellor is said to be eyeing further reductions to unprotected government departments’ budgets after she ruled out additional tax rises or more borrowing to avoid breaking her fiscal rules following the [...]
Home secretary criticised for not saying when small boat crossings will fall December 15, 2024 The home secretary has been criticised for not saying when small boat crossings will fall. Yvette Cooper has insisted the government has a moral responsibility to tackle the crisis, but refused to say when the number of people arriving across the English Channel will decline. The Labour minister was criticised by her Tory opponent for [...]
Newts can’t be ‘more protected than people who need housing’, Rayner says December 8, 2024 Angela Rayner has said the UK should not be in a situation where “newts are more protected than people” who need housing, ahead of a government shake-up of planning. The deputy Prime Minister suggested protecting the country’s wildlife should not always be prioritised over building new homes, after Sir Keir Starmer last week reiterated his [...]
Ian King quits Business Live and will leave Sky News in Spring December 6, 2024 Presenter Ian King has quit Business Live and will leave Sky News early next year, it has been announced. King has been with the news channel for ten years and has “agreed to contribute analysis and reporting” to Sky News’ website over the coming months ahead of his departure. The move comes after City AM [...]
No ‘numerical’ migration target but UK should train own workers, minister says December 1, 2024 The UK won’t have a “numerical target” for net migration but should focus on training “our own workforce”, a cabinet minister has said. Pat McFadden has said the government wouldn’t be putting a figure on the level of net migration it wanted to see as part of the wider plan for change to be announced [...]
US election timings: Your guide to watching the results November 5, 2024 After months of a closely fought battle, one of the most unpredictable US election campaigns in generations is drawing to a close. Polls have opened stateside and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are still neck and neck, as voters begin to cast the ballots for the Republican or Democrat parties. For UK watchers, following the [...]
Budget: Minister refuses to rule out tax rise for £100,000 earners nine times October 21, 2024 A government minister has refused to rule out whether Labour would increase taxes on those earning more than £100,000 at the Budget. Speaking to Sky News, care minister Stephen Kinnock refused nine times to say whether – under Labour’s definition – someone earning a six figure salary would see their taxes go up. Labour’s election [...]
DP World: Ministers had ‘conversation’ to salvage investment after row October 13, 2024 Ministers were forced to “have a conversation” with executives from DP World to secure its investment after a senior minister referred to one of its subsidiary P&O Ferries a “rogue operator”, the business secretary has said. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment – which was reportedly put in jeopardy following the scathing criticism of [...]
Labour conference: Reeves challenged over consumer ‘fear and foreboding’ September 23, 2024 Rachel Reeves has been challenged over claims the government has “generated a fear and foreboding” among consumers – but insisted she was “optimistic” about the economy. Ahead of her keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today, the Chancellor was challenged on Sky News over last week’s fall in consumer confidence to the [...]
The Capitalist: Lord Bethell bigs up the rave; Greggs goes bling; James Blunt kicks off September 12, 2024 Lord Bethell muses on the politics of the rave while Greggs releases the new must-have City accessory: catch up on the latest gossip in The Capitalist.