Explainer: Will bringing in more foreign workers fix our labour market? March 9, 2023 This week, the government unveiled its plan to effectively ban illegal immigration into the UK – raising eyebrows for the project’s feasibility in some corners, while others questioned its alignment with international law. In parallel, the government started working on loosening rules to bring in more foreign workers – starting from the construction sector. Our [...]
GB News losses hit £30m in first year on air March 9, 2023 British broadcaster GB News has amassed losses of more than £30m in its first full year on the air, after investing in numerous presenters including Eamonn Holmes and Nigel Farage. Figures from the news channel’s company accounts showed that it sunk deeper into a loss in the year to May 2022, after launching the channel [...]
UK immigration hits record levels despite labour shortages March 8, 2023 Immigration to the UK has hit record levels, despite labour shortages in key sectors, amid a fresh wave of public positivity towards arrivals. In the year ending in June 2022, long-term immigration into the UK was around 1.1m, up by 435,000 on the previous annual figure. Employment-related migration fell in vital sectors such as hospitality [...]
PMQs sketch: Parliament turns into a school playground March 8, 2023 Rishi Sunak prepares for battle with the ECHR over his plans to tackle the small boats crisis as Keir Starmer fluffs his lines. Jessica Frank-Keyes debriefs on today’s Prime Minister’s Questions. Parliament may resemble the corridors of a minor public school at the best of times, but today there was a distinct school playground vibe to [...]
Britain needs to rediscover the joy of risk and reward March 8, 2023 This time next week, no doubt, your fingernails will be bitten to the quick in anticipation of Jeremy Hunt’s budget. Should you be able to wait no longer, we offer you our best informed prediction: don’t get too excited. In some ways, a muted ‘fiscal event’ sums up Britain and Westminster at the moment. There [...]
Labour tells Jeremy Hunt to ‘get a move on’ with Solvency II reforms March 7, 2023 Labour has hit out at the government over delays to overhauling EU-era Solvency II rules demanding that it needs to “get a move on”. Shadow city minister Tulip Siddiq called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reform the rules – which govern the sums of money insurers must hold on their balance sheets to protect themselves [...]
Bankers’ bonus cap was not working, UK banking regulator says March 7, 2023 The imposition of the bankers’ bonus cap has had “precisely the opposite effect” to what regulators intended, the head of the UK’s main banking regulator said today, as he sought to defend the government’s decision to scrap the cap. Sam Woods, head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said that while scrapping the bonus cap [...]
The UK is starting to take crypto regulation seriously March 6, 2023 IDnow's Jason Tucker-Feltham eyes up a government consultation paper and urges everyone who cares about crypto to give feedback.
UK’s post-Brexit Solvency II reforms will increase risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points March 6, 2023 The Bank of England today warned the UK’s planned Solvency II reforms could increase the risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points. In a letter published today, the BoE’s governor Andrew Bailey said the UK government’s plan to overhaul the EU’s rules will increase the risk of life insurers collapsing by 20 per [...]
Donelan: Tech success must make Brits’ lives better March 6, 2023 THE GOVERNMENT’S new technology secretary has promised to turn the UK’s research triumphs into “actual, tangible benefits” for the country as she launches a new science and tech framework today. Writing for City A.M., Michelle Donelan said the UK’s “most incredible days of innovation are not in our past (but) are happening right now.” Donelan [...]