Sunak says ‘fantastic progress’ made in talks to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc March 30, 2023 Rishi Sunak said “fantastic progress” has been made in talks on joining an Indo-Pacific free trade bloc, amid expectations that the UK could be welcomed into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) imminently. The prime minister said it was “a great benefit of Brexit” for the UK to be able to sign [...]
Tory row erupts over response to US green subsidies after Hunt refuses to go ‘toe to toe’ with Biden March 30, 2023 Conservative MPs are divided over plans for the UK’s response to the US green subsidies scheme after the Chancellor said Britain would not go “toe to toe” with president Joe Biden. Net zero secretary Grant Shapps today unveiled proposals to ‘power up’ Britain with new energy security measures, in what was expected to be a [...]
Treasury hunts for a new cybersecurity boss – guess how little they are paying? March 30, 2023 Protecting the UK Treasury from a whole host of cyber threats sounds like quite an important role, and one that you might think warrants a decent salary in order to secure someone with the technical skill and professional track record who is able to take on the task. Well, not quite. Despite claiming the UK [...]
No new taxes: Labour’s Reeves pledges not to increase CGT limit March 30, 2023 Labour does not plan to increase capital gains tax, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated, despite deputy leader Angela Rayner appearing to suggest rates were too low. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week released a summary of his tax affairs, which showed that his tax rate was about 22 per cent because most of his [...]
Labour and Tory governments shun £500bn of investment for UK economy since 2000 March 30, 2023 Britain has missed out on £500bn of public investment this century as a result of successive Labour and Conservative governments trimming capital spending to balance the books, a new report out today claims. Since the turn of the millennium, the UK has injected around 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of public investment [...]
PMQs’ Sketch: Angela Rayner, Kim Possible and Dom Stoppable March 29, 2023 She’s your basic average girl, and she’s here to save the world.
Plans to house asylum seekers in military bases and barges as government pushes ahead to ‘discourage’ small boat crossings March 29, 2023 Asylum seekers will be housed in disused military bases, ferries and barges under government plans to reduce spending on hotels. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is expected to announce the use of two RAF sites as he tries to reduce the £6.8m a day the government says it spends on hotel accommodation. The plans are likely [...]
UK urges Israel PM Netanyahu to seek ‘long term compromise’ on reform plans as thousands strike and protest March 28, 2023 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced a delay in his judicial overhaul plan, saying he wanted to give time to seek a compromise over the contentious package with his political opponents. He made the announcement after two days of large protests against the plan. “When there’s an opportunity to avoid civil war through [...]
North Sea oil and gas firms are struggling despite BP and Shell record profits, industry body warns March 28, 2023 The record earnings of BP and Shell do not reflect the challenges most North Sea producers face from the windfall tax, argued OEUK.
Unions slam government’s ‘appalling decision’ to award freeport contract to firm behind P&O Ferries sackings March 27, 2023 Trade unions have hit out at the UK government over its decision to let the company that owns P&O Ferries run the new Thames Freeport development – after the Dubai-owned shipping company “chose” to break the law by firing nearly 800 staff last year. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak slammed the government’s “appalling decision” to [...]