Housing market at the forefront of UK’s economic revival, says minister May 13, 2020 The housing market will be key to reviving the British economy and needed to be re-opened, according to housing secretary Robert Jenrick. At today’s press briefing, Jenrick said the “pressure for some to move was becoming acute”, with the government estimating that 450,000 buyers and renters have been unable to move house since March. The [...]
Boris Johnson accused of misleading the House of Commons on care homes May 13, 2020 Boris Johnson has been accused of misleading parliament after being asked about the government’s coronavirus guidance on care homes. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked the Prime Minister today why the government’s advice up to 12 March was that it was unlikely that care home residents would be infected with coronavirus. Johnson denied this was [...]
City Hall report: A quarter of London businesses on brink of collapse May 13, 2020 Almost a quarter of London businesses are on the brink of collapse, according to new figures from City Hall. A YouGov survey commissioned by City Hall’s London Growth Hub found 23 per cent of the capital’s businesses won’t last more than two months of the coronavirus lockdown, which began on 13 March. The report found [...]
Rishi Sunak: UK set for ‘significant recession’ May 13, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the UK will be plunged into a “significant recession” in the wake of figures showing the economy contracted in the first quarter. It was the first time during the crisis that Sunak has admitted a recession is on its way, telling The Telegraph that “we’re at a time of unprecedented [...]
Coronavirus: UK relief package for self-employed opens today May 13, 2020 Applications will open this morning for the government’s £9bn coronavirus support package for the self-employed, with first payments expected on 25 May. The scheme will open weeks earlier than initially anticipated, and will see self-employed workers get paid up to £7,500 as a lump sum for three months’ income. Funds are expected in applicants’ bank [...]
Exclusive: UK-Japan trade deal to give London a £383m per year boost May 12, 2020 A potential UK-Japan free trade deal would provide a £383m boost to London’s economy each year, City A.M. can reveal. Estimates from the Department of International Trade, and seen by City A.M., show a trade deal between the two nations would be a major boon to the capital, particularly its financial and professional services industries. [...]
Furlough: When will the job retention scheme end? May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s job retention scheme has won wide plaudits for helping workers stay employed via furlough during the coronavirus crisis. Furlough has been one of the fundamental pillars in the chancellor’s economic response to the crisis and it has effectively amounted to temporary state socialism. The historic policy has seen the government – a [...]
Job retention scheme: Rishi Sunak extends furlough scheme until October May 12, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme until October and has promised furloughed workers they will not see a further dip in their salary until it ends. Sunak announced today that the scheme will remain the same until the end of July, but from August to October there will be “greater [...]
Former BoE governor says extend furlough scheme indefinitely May 12, 2020 Rishi Sunak should announce an indefinite extension of the coronavirus furlough scheme today with no changes to the level of pay, according to the former Bank of England (BoE) governor. Lord Mervyn King, who was the BoE helmsman during the 2008 financial crisis, said today that the scheme should be in place until “the economy [...]
Sir Keir Starmer: Coronavirus roadmap ‘needs clear directions’ May 11, 2020 Sir Keir Starmer has called for greater clarity from the government on its coronavirus recovery strategy in his first televised address. The leader of the opposition was granted a four-minute televised address by the BBC to respond to Prime Minister’s Boris Johnson’s last night in which he laid out the government’s plan for easing the [...]
