Small businesses gear up for growth despite Budget pressures December 29, 2024 Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are gearing up for expansion in 2025 despite fears about the state of the economy. In a survey of over 2,000 SMEs conducted directly after Labour’s Autumn Budget, 81 per cent said they were confident their business would grow next year, with confidence among those employing more than 50 [...]
Elon Musk causes uproar by backing German far-right party ahead of key elections December 29, 2024 Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month.
Lammy offers condolences after plane crash in South Korea kills at least 177 December 29, 2024 Foreign Secretary David Lammy has paid his “heartfelt condolences” to the people of South Korea and Thailand after a plane crash killed at least 177. The Jeju Air passenger plane was carrying 181 people when it skidded off a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into [...]
South Korean plane crash kills 179 December 29, 2024 The deadliest air accident ever in South Korea killed 179 people on Sunday, when an airliner belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was [...]
Fog causes disruption at Gatwick on airport’s busiest day of the holiday period December 29, 2024 Disruption caused by thick fog is expected to continue at Gatwick on Sunday, the airport’s busiest day of the holiday period.
From Trump to COP: A look ahead to the political year in 2025 December 29, 2024 After a whirlwind of a political year in 2024, with elections in the US, UK and across much of the globe, 2025 is already shaping up to be another momentous 12 months. From the return of President Donald Trump to the White House in January, to the challenges ahead for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, [...]
Private school fees VAT hike to take effect on New Year’s Day December 29, 2024 Private school fees are to become subject to VAT from New Year’s Day as ministers reportedly draw up plans to handle a potential wave of school closures. The government’s policy to end the charitable status of fee-paying schools which exempts them from paying 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) to the Treasury as of [...]
Small boat Channel crossings continue after migrant total reaches 150,000 December 28, 2024 Small boat crossings have continued in the English Channel on Saturday despite the morning’s foggy conditions. Pictures showed the Dungeness lifeboat bringing a number of people, thought to have been picked up from a small boat in the Channel, into the port at Dover. The latest arrivals follow crossings made on Christmas Day, Boxing Day [...]
Starmer demands ‘concrete proposals’ on growth from regulators December 28, 2024 The Prime Minister has called on Britain’s regulators to do more to prioritise growth as he seeks to improve living standards by 2029. In letters sent last week, Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said they wanted to see “concrete proposals” from regulators setting out how they could “go further” [...]
Post-Christmas shopping to rise as bargain-hunters ’emerge’ – analyst December 28, 2024 Post-Christmas shopping is expected to pick up on Friday after data showed there were fewer consumers hitting the high streets for Boxing Day bargains. By midday on Friday, footfall at shops across the country was eight per cent higher than the same day last year, according to retail analysts MRI Software. It follows refreshed figures [...]
