UK’s audit chief ‘open to learning’ from Elon Musk’s DOGE in US February 5, 2025 The head of the government’s spending watchdog has said he is open to learning from Elon Musk’s US “department of government efficiency”, or DOGE. Gareth Davies, the UK’s chief auditor, gave his annual speech to Parliament on Tuesday, warning that money was being “wasted” and public services “compromised” as he stressed that there was a [...]
CMA shake-up set to drive resurgence of UK M&A activity February 5, 2025 Merger and acquisitions (M&A) in the UK are expected to strengthen in 2025, aided by the recent shake-up at the competition regulator
PMQs: Badenoch says businesses ‘abandoning North Sea’ due to Starmer February 5, 2025 Businesses are “abandoning the North Sea” because of Sir Keir Starmer’s decisions, Kemi Badenoch has claimed at PMQs, as he she criticised the “signal he is sending to investors”. Her comments came after a Scottish court ruled that green lighting the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was unlawful, following a court battle brought [...]
UK voters want ministers to prioritise growth over net zero, poll finds February 5, 2025 Voters in the UK say they want the government to prioritise economic growth over net zero, pollsters have found. Exclusive polling for City AM by Freshwater Strategy found seven in ten people said they would rather the government prioritise economic growth over achieving net zero by 2050. It comes after pollsters yesterday revealed a majority [...]
Hospitality sector still reeling from Labour’s Budget February 5, 2025 The high drama of a global trade war competes for coverage with Keir Starmer’s EU reset, impending interest rate decisions and Nigel Farage’s lead in the opinion polls. News moves fast, and the spotlight moves on. For their part, politicians are always among the most eager to ‘draw a line under it’ and move on; [...]
Reeves’ gropes at growth decades in the future are not good enough February 5, 2025 The benefits of Rachel Reeves’ plans for new reservoirs and airports won’t be realised quickly enough. It exposes this government’s lack of coherence, credibility and, crucially, urgency, says Brandon Lewis Since coming into power, Labour has repeatedly attempted to position itself as the energetic party for economic growth, capable of shocking a lagging system to [...]
Reeves set to gather top investors at Downing Street in growth funding push February 4, 2025 Rachel Reeves will try to convince some of the UK’s biggest investment firms to take more risks with their cash tomorrow as she looks to unlock billions of pounds of funding for her growth plans, City AM has learned. In a meeting at Number 11 Downing Street, the Chancellor is set to pitch her new [...]
Labour keen to establish captive insurance market in the City of London February 4, 2025 Within eight months of governing, Labour will be expecting to reveal the results of a captive consultation, which shows a "strong indication that they are going to get on with it"
Rosebank: Britain’s future ‘not in more oil and gas’, energy minister warns February 4, 2025 The UK’s future “does not lie in more oil and gas”, an energy minister has told MPs, just days after a court ruled against consent for two new fields in the North Sea. A judge last week upheld a legal challenge by environmental campaigners against the decision to grant consent to two new oil and [...]
Exclusive: Two-thirds of voters have no confidence in Rachel Reeves February 4, 2025 A majority of Brits now have little confidence in Rachel Reeves’ plan to generate economic growth despite a renewed push from the Chancellor to kickstart Britain’s ailing economy, exclusive polling for City AM has found. More than 70 per cent of voters have said they are not confident in the Chancellor’s fiscal plans and around [...]