Sanctimonious Starmer falls short of his own standards September 17, 2024 As Keir Starmer faces questions over a £5,000 donation towards his wife’s wardrobe, the Prime Minister is finding out that decency in public life isn’t an automatic function of not being a Tory, writes Alys Denby When Victoria Starmer entered Downing Street for the first time wearing a Me+Em dress in Labour rose red, the [...]
West End: Tourist tax ‘disadvantage’ costs retailers hundreds of millions September 16, 2024 Retail business in London missed out on a projected £220m in the first half of 2024 due to the ongoing effect of the so-called tourist tax, despite continued growth in international visitor numbers. The number of international visitors to London was three per cent above pre-pandemic levels, but spending in the West End fell nearly [...]
Reeves to scrap key infrastructure bodies as major projects suffer September 15, 2024 The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) will be merged into a single body.
Renters’ Rights Bill: What is it and what does it mean for the market? September 12, 2024 Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which landlord groups have said will be the biggest change in the sector for over thirty years, entered parliament this week. Legislation will be introduced “to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes”, including removing no-fault evictions, tightening housing standards and loosening rules on pet ownership, King Charles [...]
Reform NHS to get Brits back at work and driving growth, Starmer to say September 12, 2024 Reforming the National Health Service (NHS) will help get the British public “back to health and work” as well as “driving economic growth”, Keir Starmer will say.
Labour smashes the “don’t mess with pensioners” rule September 9, 2024 Nothing in politics is more painful than the removal of a benefit to which the recipients have become accustomed. Successive Chancellors and Prime Ministers have discovered this, sometimes to their embarrassment and sometimes to their very great cost. Related to this first rule, comes another; don’t mess with pensioners. In fact, ‘not messing’ with them [...]
Who’d be ambassador to President Trump? September 9, 2024 Peter Mandelson and David Miliband are rumoured to be in the frame for British ambassador to Washington, but only if Kamala Harris wins. That’s a mistake. A Trump victory would demand a diplomatic heavyweight, says Eliot Wilson By the beginning of next year, Dame Karen Pierce will have served as British ambassador to the United [...]
Renters rights bill must protect ‘workable’ grounds for possession, landlords warn September 6, 2024 Plans to reform renters rights must protect “clear, comprehensive and workable” grounds for possession, a landlords body has warned. The government could reportedly bring forward its new Renters Rights Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech, as soon as next week, according to Sky News. And renters rights campaigners have urged ministers to fulfil [...]
Tory leadership contest: Priti Patel knocked out of race as Robert Jenrick leads field September 4, 2024 Dame Priti Patel has been knocked out of the Tory leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak, as rival Robert Jenrick was revealed to be leading the field. The results of the first ballot of MPs were revealed this afternoon with the former immigration minister emerging as the favourite among Conservative MPs to lead the party. [...]
UK’s banking regulator ‘extremely mindful’ of US on capital rules overhaul September 3, 2024 The UK’s banking regulator is “extremely mindful” of pushing ahead with a sweeping set of capital rule changes while the US’s reform package remains up in the air, its chief executive has said. Sam Woods, the deputy governor of the Bank of England and boss of the Prudential Regulation Authority, told the Following the Rules [...]