Covid-19, a year on: the need for a more diverse UK economy March 26, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks back at the last year of the pandemic and Covid restrictions and takes stock of its impact on industries and issues at the heart of British society. Read more: Read the full Covid-19, a year on series here. The UK’s economy was hit by a 10 per cent drop in GDP [...]
Boris Johnson says pubs could bar people who are not vaccinated March 24, 2021 Boris Johnson has today strongly hinted that pubs and restaurants will be able to turn away people who have not have a Covid vaccine or a recent negative test, saying the “concept of vaccine certification should not be totally alien to us”. When asked by a Westminster committee about the the prospect of Covid vaccine [...]
Boris Johnson accused of asking for a ‘blank cheque’ to restrict freedoms to September March 24, 2021 Boris Johnson has been accused of asking for a “blank cheque” to restrict freedoms as the government prepares to extend emergency Covid powers until September. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey today told MPs today that the Prime Minister was “pushing a bill that will restrict one of our most fundamental freedoms” – the right [...]
UK signs post-Brexit investment partnership deal with UAE March 24, 2021 The UK has signed an investment deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will see the gulf nation spend an initial £800m in British life sciences. The UK government will also contribute £200m to life sciences in the deal, bringing the total value of the initial investment to £1bn. The partnership will include similar [...]
House of Lords committee calls for UK-EU financial services agreement March 24, 2021 A House of Lords committee has called for the UK to negotiate better EU access for the financial services industry post-Brexit. The Lords’ EU Services Sub-Committee said today that there will be “real problems” for financial services professionals “whose qualifications are not recognised in the EU under current arrangements”. The City lost its pre-Brexit access [...]
Rishi Sunak cuts red tape on inheritance tax for Treasury’s ‘tax day’ March 23, 2021 Rishi Sunak will cut red tape involved with UK inheritance tax and tighten tax rules for second property owners as the Treasury today released a series of consultations and reports in what Whitehall is calling “tax day”. The measures will see the government reduce paperwork and other red tape required for people with smaller estates [...]
Global online tax on tech giants ‘in our grasp’, says Rishi Sunak March 23, 2021 Rishi Sunak has today said a global online tax on internet giants like Amazon and Facebook is “in our grasp”. Sunak said he was “very keen to see a resolution” on the issue, with the chancellor making it one of his top three priorities in G7 meetings this year that are hosted by the UK. [...]
David Cameron lobbied Bank of England to help failed Greensill Capital March 23, 2021 David Cameron lobbied the Bank of England to help bail out failed finance firm Greensill Capital where he worked as an adviser, it has been revealed. The central bank said the former Prime Minister contacted it on several occasions to try and relax the rules on the emergency Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) scheme, which [...]
Tory rebellion aimed at stopping trade deals with genocidal regimes fails March 22, 2021 A rebellion of Tory MPs who were trying to make it harder for the government to sign trade deals with genocidal regimes has fallen just short. The amendment to the government’s trade bill – which would have made the government explain trade deals with potentially genocidal governments to parliament – lost by 318 to 300, [...]
UK sanctions Chinese officials over Uighur human rights abuses March 22, 2021 Britain has joined the EU and the US in applying sanctions against four senior Chinese officials and one Chinese agency involved in human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. The government this afternoon unveiled a raft of “Magnitsky-style” asset freezes and travel bans against the Chinese officials over their treatment of Uighur Muslims in [...]
