‘No time for a show of virility’: Sadiq Khan on getting London moving again September 7, 2020 One of the largest criticisms of Sadiq Khan over his first mayoral term has been that he is more concerned about his personal PR and with making political gestures than with his job of running the nation’s capital. The mayor of London has been beset by attacks that he has increased spending on City Hall [...]
Brexit: Downing Street denies it will tear up EU withdrawal agreement September 7, 2020 The government is committed to its Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU despite reports it was preparing to breach it, according to Boris Johnson’s official spokesman. A report in the Financial Times today claimed that Johnson would bring forward legislation on Wednesday that would include clauses, pertaining to Northern Ireland, which would override the UK’s [...]
Brexit: Boris Johnson plans to breach withdrawal agreement to put trade talks in peril September 7, 2020 Boris Johnson is planning on bringing forward legislation this week that would reportedly put the UK in breach of its Brexit withdrawal agreement and would likely blow up trade negotiations with Brussels. The government will put forward its internal market bill on Wednesday, which will contain clauses that eliminate parts of the withdrawal agreement pertaining [...]
Boris Johnson says a no-deal exit from EU would be ‘a good outcome’ September 6, 2020 Boris Johnson has said leaving the post-Brexit transition period without a trade deal would be “a good outcome” as he sets 15 October as the deadline to reach an agreement with Brussels. Johnson said in a statement that “there is no sense” in thinking about negotiating timelines beyond 15 October, but that “there is still [...]
Exclusive: Central London will not be busy any time soon, says Sadiq Khan September 6, 2020 Sadiq Khan has admitted central London will not be “anywhere near” pre-Covid levels for months to come as he prepares to survey businesses about their back to office plans. The London mayor told City A.M. in an exclusive interview – released tomorrow in full – that office and public transport social distancing rules meant central [...]
Rishi Sunak plans to raise taxes now and cut them before next election September 6, 2020 Rishi Sunak is reportedly planning to raise taxes in the autumn budget with a view to cutting them just in time for the next General Election. Sunak met with Boris Johnson last week to plan the government’s fiscal response to the debt wracked up during the coronavirus crisis, with tax rises set to hit the [...]
Brexit: UK ‘won’t blink’ in EU trade talks, says chief negotiator September 6, 2020 The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has warned the EU it will “not blink” in negotiations as fears grow that a no-deal exit is on the cards. Talks are set to resume between the UK and EU in London next week, with both sides deadlocked over several key issues. The deadline for the deal [...]
‘Major incident’ declared as multiple people stabbed in Birmingham September 6, 2020 Multiple people were stabbed in Birmingham last night in what has been described as a “major incident” by local police. West Midlands Police were called to a first stabbing at 12.30am, before a series of others were also reported. West Midlands mayor Andy Street said the incidents “look to be related”, however police would not [...]
More than 100m meals eaten through Eat Out to Help Out scheme September 4, 2020 More than 100m meals were eaten in August as a part of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme for a total cost to the Treasury of £522m. The latest figures show there was a large uptick in take up of the scheme in the final two weeks of August, after 35m meals were [...]
Government needs clearer ‘back to work’ message, says senior Tory MP September 3, 2020 The government has to give clearer and more consistent advice on people going back to their workplaces, according to a prominent Tory backbencher. Sir Graham Brady, who is chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, said the message coming from ministers was unclear and that people needed “common sense advice”. The government was due [...]