Scotland set for Westminster-led unionist push – as Sunak vows to keep country together January 14, 2023 Rishi Sunak has said he wants to “tangibly and visibly” demonstrate the UK Government’s presence in Scotland. The Prime Minister has been in Inverness this week as part of a two-day trip north of the border, during which he announced two new green freeports in Scotland. On Thursday night, he met with First Minister Nicola [...]
‘Cowardly’: Sunak delivers damning verdict on Iranian regime after UK national Alireza Akbari executed January 14, 2023 Rishi Sunak has condemned Iran’s “callous and cowardly” decision to execute British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari. The Prime Minister said he was “appalled” by Tehran’s “barbaric regime” after its state media announced the killing. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly vowed that the action taken by Iran would “not stand unchallenged” by the UK. Iranian state media [...]
‘Stand up to Brexit purity cult’, Keir Starmer to urge Rishi Sunak in Northern Ireland protocol speech in Belfast January 13, 2023 Rishi Sunak must stand up to the “Brexit purity cult” of Eurosceptics on the Tory benches to find a solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol issues, Sir Keir Starmer will say. The Labour leader will use a speech in Belfast to urge the Prime Minister to take on the European Research Group (ERG) in order [...]
Analysis: A growing economy and falling energy bills, the stars could be aligning January 13, 2023 Britain might narrowly avoid a technical recession, energy prices could be falling , and mortgage borrowing costs might not be as crippling. Sascha O’Sullivan looks at the good news.
UK economy shockingly grows in November on back of World Cup pub boost, raising hopes of shallow recession January 13, 2023 The UK economy expanded in November, smashing downbeat market expectations and signalling the coming recession could be short lived, official figures out today reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP) climbed 0.1 per cent in November, defying analysts’ bets on a 0.2 per cent contraction, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. The expansion was driven [...]
Analysis: NHS strikes are about morale, stupid January 12, 2023 As Britain braces for more strikes in the NHS later this month and ministers are locked in tense pay negotiations, 14 health unions have pulled out of independent pay review process.
Bank of England to hike interest rates to lower peak but still to financial crisis high January 12, 2023 The Bank of England will lift interest rates to a much lower peak than expected just a matter of months ago, but is still set to send them to their steepest level since the financial crisis, City traders suspect. Markets reckon borrowing costs will peak at below 4.5 per cent, meaning investors think the Bank [...]
City’s Lord Mayor: London isn’t an “evil fairy godmother” dragging rest of the UK down January 12, 2023 The City of London’s Lord Mayor will tonight warn that the capital has been “cast as the villain in our national story” despite being an engine of economic growth for the whole country. Nicholas Lyons, who took on the role in November of last year, will tell a black tie dinner at Mansion House tonight [...]
Mark Kleinman: My bold predictions for 2023 in the City – from Natwest to Spurs January 11, 2023 After the political and economic events of 2022, the idea of being able to predict anything with confidence seems even more outlandish than usual. Nevertheless, with the UK economy precariously balanced less than two years before a general election, these seem – in early January – to be sensible bets for UK plc in 2023. [...]
The Square Mile and Me: Bill Blain on Bear Stearns, the Old Dr Butler’s Head and sailing on the Solent January 11, 2023 Each week we ask a City figure to tell us about what makes the Square Mile special. This week, it’s Shard Capital’s Bill Blain. What’s your first memory of the Square Mile? As a young Scotsman fresh to London, I thought the City was all bowler hats before a university chum invited me for lunch [...]