Rail and postal strikes ‘decimated’ festive trade with worst impact for a decade February 14, 2023 London’s festive economy was “decimated” by rail and postal strikes, as new figures revealed the disruption caused by walkouts was the worst month on record since 2011. Around 843,000 working days were lost to strike action in December – the highest for more than a decade – according to official figures from the Office for [...]
London to face second-lowest rise in council tax among UK regions February 14, 2023 Cash-strapped Londoners are set for a slight boost as it emerged that the region is set to raise average council tax rates by the second-lowest amount in the UK. Of the councils who have declared their municipal tariffs for 2022-23, London boroughs collectively came in second from the bottom of the pile, at a 4.4 [...]
Sunak under pressure to increase defence spending amid NATO warnings February 13, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to increase the UK’s defence spending after NATO called for allies to boost ammunition production to support Ukraine. Tory backbenchers have issued stark warnings that Britain’s armed forces are “woefully ill-prepared” for a major conflict and that low defence spending is a “false economy”. It came as NATO [...]
Top Tory businessman quits for Labour over ‘f*** business’ attitude February 13, 2023 A top Tory businessman and LGBT+ champion has quit the Conservative party after almost two decades over the alleged ‘f*** business’ attitude and response to culture war issues. Iain Anderson, founder of PR firm Cicero and chairman of LGBT+ charity Stonewall, has abandoned his longstanding party membership and vowed to support Keir Starmer’s Labour Party [...]
‘Lavish’ spending culture of government ministers including £345,000 ‘restaurant and bar’ bill revealed February 13, 2023 Ministers are accused of overseeing a “lavish spending” culture in Whitehall with taxpayers’ money wasted on luxury items, after Labour analysis of government procurement cards. Concerns were raised over alcohol and dining purchases by the Labour Party including almost £345,000 by foreign office officials in 2021 under the heading “restaurants and bars”, as well as [...]
New hydrogen levy is ‘harmful’ and could stoke inflation, Tory MPs warn February 12, 2023 Plans for a new tax on energy bills to fund research into hydrogen have been opposed by senior Tory MPs arguing it would be “harmful."
Sharp under pressure to quit BBC after report finds ‘significant errors’ over Johnson loan February 12, 2023 BBC chairman Richard Sharp has been told that his position is “increasingly untenable” today after a report found that “significant errors of judgement” were made in helping to arrange an £800,000 loan guarantee for Boris Johnson while Sharp was applying for the top job at the BBC. Ex-JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs banker Sharp, who [...]
HMRC delays are hindering UK growth, accounting body warns February 8, 2023 Major hold ups at HMRC are “acting as a drag on the UK’s economic growth,” the head of one of Britain’s top accounting bodies has said. The “unacceptable” delays, caused by backlogs at the UK’s tax authority, “need to be addressed promptly,” ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza said, as he called for the launch of [...]
Sunak says ‘nothing is off the table’ as Zelensky asks UK for fighter jets February 8, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said “nothing is off the table” after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky asked the UK to supply him with fighter jets to battle Putin’s army. The two leaders spoke at a joint press conference at an army base today after the Ukrainian wartime president flew to the UK and implored the [...]
Tanks for your friendship: Zelensky and Sunak tour UK military base in Dorset where Ukrainian soldiers train February 8, 2023 President Volodymyr Zelensky and prime minister Rishi Sunak have presented medals to Ukrainian troops training in the UK. The PM and the Ukrainian wartime leader are visiting Lulworth Camp, in Dorset, where members of the Ukrainian military are being trained to use Challenger 2 tanks. Zelensky and Sunak disembarked from a helicopter after being flown [...]