Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for government to scrap IR35 tax reforms June 30, 2020 Acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has tabled an amendment to parliament in a bid to quash the government’s planned IR35 tax reforms. Davey has attached an amendment to the government’s finance bill, set to come before the House of Commons tomorrow, asking for the mooted taxation changes to be scrapped in order to protect [...]
City of London Corporation criticised for awarding above-inflation pay rises during coronavirus crisis June 30, 2020 A London think tank has slammed the City of London Corporation for giving staff a pay rise above inflation levels during the coronavirus crisis. The Corporation recently confirmed that all its staff would receive a 2.25 per cent yearly pay rise from 2020 to 2023 as well as an additional 5 per cent annual increase [...]
Oliver Dowden flags potential government U-turn on Huawei’s 5G role June 30, 2020 US sanctions on Huawei may result in the Chinese telecoms giant being frozen out of the UK’s 5G network, according to culture and digital secretary Oliver Dowden. Dowden said today that the government was “clear eyed” about the security risks Huawei pose in helping build 5G infrastructure and flagged a potential U-turn on their involvement. [...]
Furious Theresa May attacks PM’s political choice for national security adviser June 30, 2020 Former Prime Minister Theresa May has lashed out at Boris Johnson and his allies for appointing loyalist Brexit adviser David Frost as the country’s new national security adviser. May said Frost, who is a close ally to the Prime Minister, was a political appointment and undermined the impartial role of national security adviser. Frost was [...]
Boris Johnson’s New Deal: PM invokes Roosevelt in ‘radical’ infrastructure overhaul June 30, 2020 Boris Johnson has today set out plans to overhaul the UK’s planning system, to make building new homes easier, in order to fix what he termed “intergenerational injustices” in access to property. The overhaul will allow developers to change the use of buildings and land in town centres without planning permission, meaning that vacant buildings [...]
Exclusive: UK unhappy with treatment from EU in Airbus-Boeing dispute June 29, 2020 Trade secretary Liz Truss has complained to the EU Commission that the UK is being unfairly represented by Brussels in a long-running trade dispute between Boeing and Airbus. EU sources told City A.M. that Truss set up meetings with high-level figures from the Commission to complain that the other three European countries involved in the [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for government clarity on local lockdown powers June 29, 2020 Sadiq Khan has urged the government to provide more clarity on what powers local authorities have to deal with regional coronavirus outbreaks. The mayor of London wrote to health secretary Matt Hancock today to ask if councils had the power to implement local lockdowns and for additional resources in the case of localised flare ups. [...]
Leicester lockdown: Pubs and restaurants may stay closed for two more weeks June 29, 2020 Leicester may be forced to extend restrictions on restaurants and pubs for a further two weeks due to a local coronavirus flare up, according to the city’s mayor. Sir Peter Soulsby said today that the government recommended that England’s current social distancing restrictions, due to be lifted on Saturday, are not lifted for the Midlands city. [...]
Coronavirus: Almost half of UK businesses expect they will have to lay off employees June 29, 2020 Almost half of UK businesses expect that the coronavirus crisis will force them to lay off employees. A new survey from YouGov revealed that 42 per cent of UK businesses expect they will have fewer employees in a year’s time compared to before the coronavirus lockdown. This compares to just 16 per cent of people [...]
Sadiq Khan backs proposal for quicker 5G rollout in London June 29, 2020 Sadiq Khan has backed a new report that calls for a quicker rollout of 5G infrastructure in London and beyond. A new report out today by former Treasury economist Matthew Oakley, and commissioned by Vodafone, found that an upgrade from 4G to 5G infrastructure would have a £120bn benefit to the UK economy over 10 [...]
