Post-Brexit powers mean regulators need greater oversight, City figures warn May 5, 2023 Ex-ministers and City figures have warned that the government is not doing enough to improve the scrutiny of regulators after Brexit, in a sign that past rows about protecting the independence of the UK’s top financial regulators could resurface in the coming months. Following Brexit, UK financial regulators, such as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and [...]
Are housing targets good or bad? May 4, 2023 As a new WhatsApp controversy within the Tory party puts housebuilding targets in the limelight, Elena Siniscalco asks whether central targets are a good or bad housing policy
Shell to pay £400m in windfall taxes this year after bumper first quarter earnings May 4, 2023 Shell has confirmed it will pay just under £400m in windfall taxes this year, after bumper first-quarter profits.
Sunak: Politics no longer ‘box set drama’ as local elections open May 4, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said politics is moving away from a “box set drama” style following months of turbulence. His comments came on the eve of local elections across England today (4 May) with requirements for voters to present photo ID at the ballot box coming in for the first time. Sunak is facing [...]
Hunt hypes up UK’s future as ‘world’s next Silicon Valley’ May 3, 2023 Jeremy Hunt has talked up Britain’s prospects of becoming the “world’s next Silicon Valley” in a summit with creative industries leaders. The Chancellor has said the Prime Minister’s ambition for the UK to become a “science and technology superpower” is key to the country’s future. Speaking at a Treasury Connect event in a series of [...]
Covid cash lost to fraud down by third because we’re ‘going after everybody’, Sunak claims May 3, 2023 Government cash lost to fraud and error via Covid-19 business and jobs support schemes has been reduced by a third thanks to “hundreds of criminal investigations”, Rishi Sunak has claimed. The prime minister defended the pandemic business loans and job support and vowed his government was “going after everybody” in a bid to reclaim the [...]
Explainer: Rishi Sunak’s fight against the fraudsters robbing Britain May 3, 2023 Fraud is now the most common crime in Britain. Whether it’s done via call, text or online, it constitutes 41 per cent of all offences committed. We used to think fraud was a danger purely for older and vulnerable people, until we all started falling for it. Criminals have become so skilled at impersonating banks, [...]
PMQs sketch: A local election drinking game, by Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak May 3, 2023 In celebration of the impending Coronation, no, not of the King, but of 8,000 local councillors across the country, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer came up with a novel idea: a PMQs drinking game.
Windfall windbags: Labour calls for tougher tax after BP profits May 3, 2023 Windfall tax-backing politicians were described as “completely out of ideas” after calling for the levy to be toughened up.
Explainer: Rishi Sunak eyes a revival of Help to Buy May 2, 2023 Just over a month ago, we were reporting the phasing out of Help to Buy, which was closed to new entrants last year. Now, Rishi Sunak is considering relaunching the policy. Talking of u-turns. The scheme was introduced in 2013 by George Osborne to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder. It offered lower [...]