Business energy support set to be halved to reduce taxpayer bill December 30, 2022 Support for businesses to help them cope with swelling energy bills will halve in the spring to avoid taxpayers holding the bag if oil and gas prices surge again, according to The Times. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next month will announce a 12-month extension to a scheme that caps energy costs for businesses, similar to a [...]
Govt accused of ‘rank double standards’ as civil servants paid £30m in vouchers December 29, 2022 The Government has been accused of “rank double standards” after giving almost £30 million in high-street vouchers to civil servants amid a pay freeze prompted by the cost-of-living crisis. Sixteen Whitehall departments in 2021-22 paid out a combined total of £29.57 million to staff in the form of ‘reward and recognition’ vouchers, a third more [...]
Best of political opinion in 2022 December 28, 2022 The best opinion and analysis of the high drama in Westminster in 2022.
EXCL – Sunak should lower national insurance in 2023, argues jobs chief December 28, 2022 With inflation having reached a 40-year high this year and the economy predicted to shrink in 2023, City A.M. zooms in on the volatile, hyperactive UK jobs market by checking in with Paul Farrer, the CEO and founder of London-based recruitment giant Aspire. Sitting down with this paper today, Farrer calls on the new Prime [...]
Driving examiners launch five-day strike December 28, 2022 Driving examiners will launch a five-day strike on Wednesday as part of escalating industrial action by civil servants in a dispute over pay, jobs and pensions. Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in 71 test centres in eastern England and the Midlands will walk out. They are employed by the Driver and [...]
From strikes to Avanti West Coast: Here the top five things to look out for in rail next year December 28, 2022 Railway has taken centre stage in the UK public discourse as the tug of war between unions and train operators over the past six months has led to unthinkable misery to millions of people and businesses. Rail minister Huw Merriman said last month the walkouts had cost the UK economy £500m, while hospitality and retail [...]
Sunak can’t afford to lose another ethics adviser, says appointments board chair December 27, 2022 The Government cannot afford to lose another ethics adviser, the head of the business appointments watchdog has warned. The warning by Lord Pickles, chairman of the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), comes days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak filled the six-month vacancy by appointing veteran banker and Historic England chairman Sir Laurie Magnus. [...]
Insulating our leaky homes now would be a sensible investment for this Conservative government to make December 26, 2022 As Rishi Sunak stood in Downing Street after becoming prime minister, he made a major promise. “The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves”, he said. That’s why the recent announcement from the Chancellor to make [...]
Rishi Sunak hires Spectator journo James Forsyth as key political aide December 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak has hired James Forsyth, the Spectator’s political editor and a Times columnist, as his new political secretary. The news was broken by The Times and the Spectator. Forsyth will bolster Sunak’s key Downing Street team as the Prime Minister seeks to overcome a double-digit deficit in most election polls. He is a long-standing [...]
London braced for transport chaos as Christmas Eve train strike begins December 24, 2022 Strike action could bring chaos to millions of people on Christmas Eve, as walkouts hit rail services and Border Force action enters a second day. With one day to go until Christmas, travellers were being issued with warnings of delays, congestion and disruption. Fears of disorder at UK airports and long queues at passport control [...]