Budget 2021: The political consensus on low taxes could be completely wrong March 3, 2021 In the run up to most Budgets there is almost always one key question shaping debate: should the screws be tightened or the floodgates opened? This time round, a near unanimous consensus has arisen. Taxes should not go up, for fear of jeopardising the recovery. Even the Leader of the Labour Party has signed up to [...]
Pandemic binge-watching drives UK entertainment spend to record high March 3, 2021 UK spending on films, music and gaming increased to a record high last year, driven by increased demand for streaming during Covid-19 lockdowns. Retail entertainment spend increased 18 per cent to a record £9.3bn in 2020, marking the eight successive year of growth in the sector and the fastest growth rate ever recorded. The final [...]
Furlough scheme extended to September in Rishi Sunak’s Budget March 2, 2021 The UK’s furlough scheme will be extended until September in tomorrow’s Budget, ensuring the government will pay millions of people’s wages past when Covid restrictions are set to end. The chancellor said tonight that it was “only right” that the government continued to help businesses and pay workers’ wages as the UK looks to lift [...]
Brand Budget 2021: How Chancellor Rishi Sunak went loco for logos March 2, 2021 The hottest promotional video of this week came not from Netflix, but instead from a rather unexpected source: the Chancellor of the exchequer. Riding on a wave of pre-Budget excitement, Rishi Sunak this week dropped a slick five-minute film that would make any marketing team proud. But while the idea of branding a Budget is [...]
Covid crisis deepened for airlines in January March 2, 2021 International air traffic fell 86 per cent in January compared to pre-crisis levels
Budget 2021: What to expect from Rishi Sunak’s three-point plan tomorrow afternoon March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak has hinted that he will extend a wide range of government support schemes in tomorrow’s Budget, as he again pledged to do “whatever it takes” to restore the British economy from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. It may be only Sunak’s second Budget as chancellor, but it comes after delivering almost a [...]
Google launches $2m fund to help bridge funding gap for Black tech founders March 2, 2021 Google For Start Ups launches fund to tackle lack of black talent in tech
Banks raise the alarm over £100 contactless payment limit March 2, 2021 Major UK banks are said to have raised concerns over an increase in the contactless payment limit to £100 due to the growing risk of fraud. In his Budget tomorrow chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to hike the cap on contactless spending from its current limit of £45. But a string of high street lenders [...]
Budget 2021: Philip Hammond tells Boris Johnson to ditch big infrastructure projects March 2, 2021 Former chancellor Lord Philip Hammond has told Boris Johnson to ditch his plans for big infrastructure projects in the North, with the UK facing its largest ever Budget deficit. Hammond said today that a better way to enact Johnson’s “levelling up” agenda was for more devolution to regions, while also calling for tax rises and [...]
Budget 2021: Tax hikes are the same as austerity and will spell Rishi Sunak’s downfall March 2, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget marks the beginning of a damaging era of austerity that risks crushing Britain’s economic recovery. While other countries are trying to jumpstart their economies, Rishi is expected to ratchet up income and corporate taxes to address the mounting deficit. The Chancellor is right that Britain’s fiscal position is not sustainable. It [...]
