Revealed: Government faces mounting pile of complaints over contract issues November 11, 2019 Whitehall is facing a spiralling number of complaints from companies bidding for government work, as officials move to counter growing disquiet over a series of botched contract awards in recent years. The number of complaints rose by nearly half in 2018 to 235, up from 159 the previous year, according to data released under the [...]
Labour refuses to rule out unlimited EU immigration in Brexit deal November 10, 2019 Labour’s election coordinator has refused to deny the party would continue to allow uncontrolled immigration from the EU in its prospective Brexit deal. Labour’s Brexit policy, if it wins the election, is to negotiate a new deal with the EU and put it to the public in a confirmatory referendum. Read more: SNP leader Nicola [...]
US law firm launches in London and plans UK expansion ‘because of Brexit’ November 10, 2019 A US law firm has launched in London to take advantage of the weakness of the pound triggered by Brexit. Tully Rinckey received regulatory approval to operate in the UK during the summer and has opened its first office in Mayfair. The firm – which opened its first international outpost in Ireland in 2018 – [...]
Moody’s downgrades UK credit rating outlook to ‘negative’ November 9, 2019 Moody’s has signalled there is a possibility it will downgrade the credit rating on government debt amid an “erosion in institutional strength” caused by Brexit. The ratings agency has changed the outlook on its Aa2 rating of the UK’s debt from “stable” to “negative”, implying a rating cut could be imminent. Read more: Sajid Javid [...]
Woodford protege Mark Barnett reassures investors after fund rating downgrades November 9, 2019 Invesco’s top fund manager in the UK Mark Barnett has apologised to investors after a fund rating agency raised concerns over the performance and liquidity of his investments. Barnett, who previously worked under Neil Woodford before he left to start is own business six years ago, has defended the performance of his funds after consultants [...]
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says she would ally with Labour in return for an independence vote November 8, 2019 The Scottish National Party (SNP) will seek a “progressive alliance” with the Labour Party if next month’s election leaves no one party with a clear majority, its leader Nicola Sturgeon said today. The UK heads to the polls on 12 December for an election called by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to try and get a [...]
Keep an eye on these shares during General Election November 8, 2019 The UK is holding a general election on 12 December. All the political parties are keen to return discussion to domestic policies after years of neglect because of Brexit, but the UK’s proposed departure from the EU will continue to dominate the debate. Still, whichever party wins (or parties, if it results in a hung parliament) [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn to go face-to-face in BBC debate November 8, 2019 The BBC is set to host a live debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. The party leaders will go head-to-head in a televised debate on 6 December, just days before the general election. Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has not been asked to attend the debate. Read more: General Election announcement [...]
Half of UK citizens think the country will not exist in a decade November 8, 2019 More than half of UK citizens think the country will not exist in its current form a decade from now, according to a new poll. The Ipsos Mori poll showed 50 per cent thought the United Kingdom would not exist in 10 years, up from 43 per cent in 2014. Just 29 per cent said [...]
UK job growth slows as Bank of England entertains interest rate cut November 8, 2019 The demand for staff from UK employers grew at its slowest rate for almost eight years in October, according to a survey revealed on Friday, appearing to justify two Bank of England rate-setters backing an interest rate cut yesterday. A monthly index of job vacancies from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG fell [...]