Tories push for school smartphone ban to be added to education bill January 25, 2025 The Tories will push for a ban on smartphones in schools to be included in the Government’s education Bill. The Conservatives are tabling an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to end the use of mobile phones and other devices during school days by pupils. It is understood that the Labour government has [...]
THG trading on target after Ingenuity split January 23, 2025 THG, the company behind fitness supplement brand Myprotein, has reported its first trading update after the group split in two earlier this year. The company told the market this morning that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2024 are expected to align with consensus expectations. At the beginning of January, THG [...]
Priti Patel: Labour should focus on negotiating with Trump instead of ‘disparaging comments’ January 19, 2025 Labour should focus on starting negotiations with Donald Trump, rather than making “disrespectful and disparaging comments”, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel has said. She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “I think we have to respect the fact that he has a very significant mandate. The American people voted clearly, categorically, [...]
Ministers to announce plans to claim back money from benefit fraudsters January 19, 2025 Ministers are set to unveil plans for new laws which mean they will be able to reclaim money from bank accounts in instances of benefit fraud. The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that new planned powers will mean that money can be reclaimed from people who have committed fraud and are not on [...]
Ministers set to unveil plans for digital driving licences January 18, 2025 Ministers are set to unveil plans for digital driving licences next week, according to reports. The Times reported on Saturday that the licences will be available through a new government app, potentially by the end of this year. Officials have emphasised that a digital licence would not be mandatory. The digital wallet that will contain [...]
Train drivers seek to put ‘dent’ in cost of living in pay talks January 18, 2025 Train drivers in England will look to “put a dent” in the cost of living over the past few years when they negotiate their next pay settlement, according to the head of their union. Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), told the i Paper any proposed rise [...]
Pensions triple lock should not be kept ‘indefinitely’, says minister who introduced it January 18, 2025 The minister who first signed off on the pensions triple lock has suggested he thinks there is not a case for keeping the measure “indefinitely”. Former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Steve Webb, who served as pensions minister in the coalition government, thinks there is still a case for keeping it now, and there is still “a pretty low state pension” [...]
Local elections will be ‘quite difficult’ for Tories, says Badenoch January 18, 2025 The Conservative leader has predicted that this year’s vote will be “very bad” for the Tories compared to votes four years ago.
Ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to begin on Sunday morning January 18, 2025 The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect in less than 24 hours, said Qatar’s foreign ministry. In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign minister Majid al-Ansari, said the ceasefire will go into effect at 8.30am (0630 GMT) on Sunday. He advised people to exercise caution when the agreement goes into effect and [...]
IMF upgrades UK growth outlook after sluggish year January 17, 2025 UK economic growth is set to accelerate this year after it missed forecasts in 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. The global economic body slightly upgraded its growth projection for the UK in a fresh update of its influential World Economic Outlook report. The IMF said UK gross domestic product (GDP) is on [...]