Cancelled Budget forces OBR to run two forecasts in two days February 27, 2020 The cancellation of last autumn’s Budget, in place of one next month, means the OBR will now publish two sets of economic forecasts within two days of each other, to avoid falling foul of the law. The Office for Budget Responsibility is legally required to produce two forecasts annually, tied to a fiscal event. However [...]
IR35: Government confirms ‘light touch’ tax rollout February 27, 2020 People will not have to pay penalties for IR35 errors in the first year of the tax changes, as the government confirmed a “light touch” approach today. The government has published its review into the tax changes after announcing it would look into IR35 following concerns from business. HMRC said: “Customers will not have to [...]
Keep calm and drink Yorkshire Tea until the Twitter storm blows over February 27, 2020 Another day, another Twitter pile-on. This time, the warriors of social justice turned their ire on homely hot-drink merchants Yorkshire Tea. Their equally voluble online opponents rallied to its defence. Why? Because Yorkshire Tea had the temerity to be, unbeknownst to them, our new chancellor’s choice of brew. Or, more precisely, the drink selected by [...]
Storm in a teacup as Yorkshire Tea wins Twitter February 26, 2020 The story was predictably silly: Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak poses with a big bag of tea, and anti-Tory Twitterati say they will never drink that brand again, dropping a fair few expletives in their ranty responses to a completely imagined outrage. What have we learnt from this storm in a Yorkshire Tea cup? On the [...]
Sajid Javid issues PM a warning over fiscal rules and urges him to ‘balance the books’ February 26, 2020 Former chancellor Sajid Javid has issued a warning to the government not to allow spending to get out of hand, telling Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak the country’s fiscal rules are “critical”. Speaking in the Commons for the first time since he quit during the reshuffle, in the unusual move of giving a personal statement [...]
Yorkshire Tea shocked by backlash to Rishi Sunak photo February 26, 2020 Yorkshire Tea urged social media users to “be kind” after the company became embroiled in a row involving the Chancellor. Last week Chancellor Rishi Sunak posted a picture of him making a huge round of tea for his staff. He was pictured holding a bumper pack of 1,040 tea bags. The tweet led to a [...]
Exclusive: Javid to make first statement since exit February 26, 2020 Sajid Javid will today make a short statement in Parliament, his first public intervention since he resigned as chancellor just under a fortnight ago. Javid stepped down after being asked to fire his aides by the Prime Minister as part of a drastic reorganisation of Number 10 and 11 Downing Street. Refusing, Javid said “no [...]
The chancellor could use the Budget to help both startups and investors February 26, 2020 Ahead of any Budget, there is always great speculation on what may be announced. This year, the focus thus far has been on when a Budget would happen and who will deliver it. But with the new chancellor Rishi Sunak confirming that it will go ahead on 11 March, all attention has turned to the [...]
IFS: Borrowing could surge to five-year high February 26, 2020 The UK’s borrowing could balloon to £63bn next year, a five-year high well above both the most recent forecast and this year’s borrowing figure, an influential think tank has said. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) also warned that the government would “undermine any credibility” in its spending rules if it ditches its pledge to [...]
Gina Miller calls for review of Andrew Bailey’s Bank of England role after ‘toxic’ FCA tenure February 25, 2020 Campaigner and asset management boss Gina Miller today called for a review of Andrew Bailey’s appointment as governor of the Bank of England after his “toxic” tenure as head of the City watchdog. Miller’s True and Fair campaign today published as a report called “Asleep at the wheel” about the string of City scandals during [...]