Brexit: ‘Significant’ differences remain between UK and EU, says Brussels July 9, 2020 The latest round of UK-EU Brexit trade deal negotiations have ended with both parties still harbouring “significant” differences. An EU Commission spokesperson told a press conference in Brussels today that the latest round of talks had finished and that the EU was “working hard to overcome the significant divergences” that remain between the two sides. [...]
Think tank: Furlough bonus scheme a £9bn ‘deadweight loss’ July 9, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s £9.4bn scheme to compensate companies that bring back furloughed employees has been described as a “deadweight loss” by a leading London think tank. The chancellor’s Job Retention Bonus will see the government pay businesses £1,000 for every furloughed employee they bring back to work and keep employed until the end of January. The [...]
Liz Truss says UK’s Brexit border plans at risk of WTO legal challenge and smuggling July 9, 2020 Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit border plans risk breaking international trading rules and could result in smuggling from the EU, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss. Truss wrote a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove on Wednesday warning that the UK’s current plans put the country at risk of several political [...]
Top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill hits out at ‘sniping’ from inside government July 8, 2020 Britain’s outgoing top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill has hit out against the culture of off-record media attacks in Westminster that saw him recently sustain a barrage of public criticism. Sedwill had been the victim of numerous off-record briefings to the media about his role in the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. It has [...]
Rishi Sunak Summer Statement: All the Chancellor’s spending pledges July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced a raft of measures in his Summer Statement in a bid to help the UK economy recover from the worst effects of coronavirus. The Treasury boss revealed massive public spending to bolster the UK economy in what people are calling his mini-Budget. While he did not extend the government’s furlough [...]
Booze misses out on VAT cut, but pubs say glass is half-full July 8, 2020 Britain’s largest pub body has shaken off Rishi Sunak’s decision to not cut VAT on alcohol in his economic summer statement and instead largely praised the mini-Budget. The British Beer and Pub Association (BPPA) said the exemption would provide little help for “those pubs where revenue is more drinks led”, but that most of its [...]
Brexit: Michel Barnier says Brussels ‘ready to grant’ City of London access to EU markets July 8, 2020 EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said Brussels is prepared to grant the City of London access to European markets post-Brexit. New documents released by the House of Lords EU committee show that Barnier recently told the group that Brussels was “ready to grant equivalence”. The EU has the power to unilaterally grant access to [...]
Labour calls for no tax rises to pay for coronavirus spending July 8, 2020 Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds will urge the government to commit to not raising taxes tomorrow in her response to Rishi Sunak’s economic statement. Dodds is expected to respond to the chancellor’s mini budget by saying that Labour is “not calling for tax rises – we are calling for growth”. The shadow chancellor is expected [...]
Rishi Sunak reveals £2bn unemployment scheme to create hundreds of thousands of jobs July 7, 2020 The government will subsidise hundreds of thousands of new jobs for unemployed young Britons as a part of a new £2bn coronavirus support package. Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the launch of the Kickstart Scheme in his summer economic statement tomorrow, which will see the government subsidise jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds receiving Universal Credit [...]
Conservative party conference moves online for 2020 July 7, 2020 The October Conservative party conference has been officially cancelled, with a virtual event to go ahead instead. The party sent an email to members today to inform them that the showpiece event, planned for Birmingham, would not take place this year. The announcement comes after Labour and the Liberal Democrats already cancelled their events months [...]
