What should an office for value for money do? November 21, 2024 There's no point in raising money if it won't be spent well. Joe Hill lays out how the office for value for money could actually help.
Reeves must answer ‘incredibly serious’ questions over CV, Tory MP demands November 19, 2024 Rachel Reeves must answer “incredibly serious” questions over claims she “misrepresented” her CV, a Tory MP has demanded. Richard Holden wrote to the Chancellor following reports she had exaggerated her professional experience at the Bank of England (BoE) and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS). Reeves told Stylist magazine in 2021 that she spent a decade [...]
Reeves has been ‘straight with the public’, No10 insists amid CV row November 18, 2024 Rachel Reeves has been “straight with the public” about Britain’s accounts and “restored financial stability”, No10 has insisted, amid claims the Chancellor exaggerated her CV. Reports emerged this weekend that Reeves had inflated the length of her service at the Bank of England in a Stylist interview in 2021. She told the magazine in 2021 [...]
Inside the ‘arms race’ for a private stock exchange – and why it’s dividing the City November 13, 2024 At a private workshop at the London Stock Exchange in September, a room full of investors and City bosses were split into separate groups and told to talk among themselves. Spread among them were officials from the Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange, scribbling down the thoughts of those in attendance [...]
What the City of London wants from Reeves’s Mansion House speech November 12, 2024 Treasury officials have been hitting the phones to City firms over the past two weeks as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the government’s annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector. The backdrop is a fractious one for the Chancellor. While the Labour party built cordial ties with the Square Mile in the run [...]
You know what won’t improve state efficiency? More watchdogs November 12, 2024 Donald Trump and Keir Starmer agree on one thing at least: their governments need reforming and to be much more efficient. Sadly for those on this side of the Atlantic, our value-for-money policies inspire little confidence. The UK already needed radical attention but Labour’s first Budget has raised the stakes even higher. As the Office [...]
Treasury sells another £1bn in Natwest shares as stake falls further November 11, 2024 Natwest has bought back another tranche of shares from the Treasury as the government continues to accelerate its exit from the Big Four lender.
Lord Pannick to take on government over VAT decision on private schools November 1, 2024 The government is set to face Lord Pannick as legal action has commenced over its decision to charge private schools VAT on fees
Autumn Budget 2024: Taxes rocket by £40bn as employers told to pay more October 30, 2024 Rachel Reeves has hiked employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) by 1.2 per cent, as she delivered the Labour government’s first Autumn Budget in office, which saw taxes rise by a record £40bn and government borrowing increase. The Chancellor unveiled the rise – which is set to see the levy hit 15 per cent for firms [...]
In defence of Treasury brain October 30, 2024 Treasury officials are often criticised for making budgets add up in the short term at the expense of long-term goals. That’s true, but imagine the money that would be wasted if they didn’t! Writes Joe Hill Budgets are divisive, everyone has their own gripe. Too much spending, or too little. Not enough growth, or too [...]