May 2023 local elections: All you need to know April 4, 2023 In just over a month, voters in some parts of the UK will be heading to the ballot box for the local elections. Polling stations will open for residents to select local councillors – in what’s often seen as a key test for the government’s popularity, particularly after the turbulence of recent months. It’s also [...]
Heartfelt tributes paid to ‘Tory giant’ ex Chancellor Nigel Lawson who dies aged 91 April 3, 2023 The former Chancellor Nigel Lawson, who oversaw the City’s mid-eighties Big Bang, has passed away at 91. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led tributes to the party grandee and leading Brexiteer as an “inspiration” while Boris Johnson marked him as a “giant” of Tory politics. Prior to entering politics Lawson was the City editor of the [...]
Rishi Sunak’s popularity soars in Tory league table with ‘big jump’ before local elections April 3, 2023 Prime minister Rishi Sunak has seen his popularity soar among the Tory grassroots, a poll has shown. The Conservative Home website’s survey of party membership shows Sunak’s approval ratings have risen from sixth from bottom to sixth from top, in the cabinet league table. In the end of February’s poll, the PM was at just [...]
UK housing model is ‘broken’, says Michael Gove April 3, 2023 The UK’s housing model is “broken”, housing secretary Michael Gove has said. The comments by the senior cabinet minister come in a foreword to a collection of essays by liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue. First reported by the Times newspaper, Mr Gove writes: “We desperately need more homes to bring ownership within reach of [...]
No plans to delay EU laws ‘bonfire’ deadline, says government April 1, 2023 The government has said that there are no plans to delay the deadline of the so-called “bonfire” of EU laws following reports that Rishi Sunak’s pledge, scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, was proving difficult. The Times reported on Saturday that Downing Street is considering a six-month extension to the Government’s [...]
With just ONE PER CENT of cases leading to charges, is Britain a ‘haven for fraudsters’? A top Westminster committee thinks so. March 31, 2023 Britain is a “haven” for fraudsters as less than 1 per cent of reported cases result in charges, a damning report into the Government’s handling of the growing problem has said. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee criticised the “slow progress” on tackling the estimated 3.8 million incidents of fraud and attempted frauds. They said [...]
Musk verification, laughing gas, webcam gaffes, ChatGPT and cyber crime pay: Here’s your week in tweets! March 31, 2023 The markets quietened this week, with European banking stocks recovering the losses they had posted in the week after Credit Suisse’s shotgun marriage with UBS. But the internet never sleeps and the news rumbles on, so City A.M. have sorted through cyberspace to bring you the best of what you might have missed. 1. Elon [...]
What is the CPTPP trade bloc, why has Britain joined it, and is it really about ‘post Brexit freedoms’? The jury’s out March 31, 2023 Britain has formally joined a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc as prime minister Rishi Sunak said it allowed the UK to take advantage of “post-Brexit freedoms”. But does it really allow the UK to become a global player once again? The jury is out. The PM hailed the UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement [...]
UK to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc CPTPP in major ‘milestone’ March 31, 2023 The UK is to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, in a major “milestone” for post-Brexit trade, the government has confirmed. Ministers announced the deal making the UK the first European nation to join the major Indo-Pacific free trade bloc, worth a total of £11 trillion GDP, after negotiating [...]
Britain joining the CPTPP trade bloc isn’t about economics, it’s about influence March 31, 2023 As with most things, it’s best to ignore the hype and the haters: joining the CPTPP is a good thing for the UK.