Liz Truss, Bill Hwang and Elon Musk: The 2022 awards you don’t want to win December 18, 2022 We started the year with Boris Johnson in Downing Street and optimism for a Covid-19 rebound. It didn’t quite turn out that way – and here’s our pick of the best of the best (or worst of the worst) of 2022… THE MUM OF THE YEAR AWARD This year hasn’t been smooth sailing for e-commerce retail [...]
Dowden says ‘our door always open’ to striking unions December 18, 2022 A senior minister has insisted that “our door is always open” to union bosses, despite refusing to engage in pay negotiations with striking nurses. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said today that “we’re always willing to talk” with the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), but that its 19 per cent pay increase demand is “not [...]
Rishi Sunak: Rail workers tired of being ‘foot soldiers’ in RMT’s ‘class war’ December 18, 2022 Rail workers are tired of being “foot soldiers” in the union RMT’s “class war,” according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The PM said the deals offered to both railway staff and Border Force workers have been “fair” and yet “affordable to taxpayers.” “An increasing number of union members want a deal,” Sunak wrote in The [...]
Tech start-ups tell No10 they will lose £1b if rebate cuts go ahead December 15, 2022 A number of UK based start-ups have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, requesting that he rethink the slashed rebates for small and medium businesses. The government’s Autumn statement has limited the tax credits available to mid level companies in a bid to increase rebates available to larger businesses. According to tech start-ups this will [...]
No10 confirms strike-busting bill paused as ministers look to broaden scope December 15, 2022 No10 has confirmed that its bill on guaranteeing minimum service levels during strike days is being paused as ministers look to broaden its scope. “Essentially we’ve paused that bill and are looking at adding additional measures to it to widen its scope,” said the Prime Minister’s spokesperson. “We haven’t set out exactly the scope of [...]
Explainer-in-brief: How to solve a problem like the unions? December 15, 2022 Yesterday Keir Starmer branded the nurses strike “a badge of shame” on the Conservative government. The Labour leader held little back in Prime Minister’s Questions as the country faces industrial action today. But it was also a distraction technique for an opposition party gripped with indecision over the strikes. Rishi Sunak rightly called Starmer’s demands [...]
Brexit: UK and EU eye Northern Ireland Protocol deal by February December 14, 2022 UK and EU officials are hoping to seal a deal on the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol by February, after more than a year of wrangling. Talks over a deal have intensified over the past month, after relations have thawed between London and Brussels during Rishi Sunak’s premiership. Bloomberg reports that foreign secretary James Cleverly and [...]
It’s beginning to look a lot like chaos: Rail strikes hit London as businesses shed Christmas bookings December 14, 2022 Parts of London resembled a ghost town yesterday as rail workers kicked off the first of several days of strikes. Bars in the capital warned they are haemorrhaging tens of thousands of pounds in lost bookings due to mass walkouts deterring commuters, raising the threat of businesses missing out on their third ever-critical golden quarter [...]
Sunak calls on Khan to scrap Ulez expansion to all London boroughs December 14, 2022 Sadiq Khan should “listen to the public” and scrap the planned expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to all of London, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said. Sunak said during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today that it is the “overwhelming” view of London residents that the levy should not be expanded. Ulez will [...]
Avanti apologises ‘unreservedly’ for poor service over recent months December 14, 2022 Avanti West Coast has apologised “unreservedly” for providing an unacceptable service to passengers over the past few months. Richard Scott, director of corporate affairs at parent company West Coast Partnership, told a parliamentary committee today the service provided “has not been good enough and I apologise unreservedly for that.” The troubled train operator came under [...]