Lidl aims for 1,100 UK stores by 2025, creating 4,000 new jobs November 24, 2021 Supermarket Lidl has announced plans to have 1,100 stores across the UK by 2025, creating 4,000 new jobs, after opening 55 stores during the first year of the pandemic. It comes as the grocer published its accounts filed with Companies House for the 12 months to the end of February showing revenues jumped 12 per [...]
Downing Street signals it is prepared to tear up Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal November 23, 2021 Downing Street said late last night the UK government is prepared to consider tearing up elements of Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal, despite a Cabinet minister insisting the option would not be used before Christmas. Number 10 said there was no timetable for whether or not it would unilaterally use the powers under Article 16 of [...]
Letters: Warning, risk of electric shock November 22, 2021 [Re: It’s about time for Rishi Sunak to make his mind up on on a road tax, Nov 19] In the same way that government’s previously promoted diesel power as the solution to saving energy and the planet, electric vehicles are a similar red-herring. Batteries are not going to save us, as the practicalities of [...]
Boris Johnson rules out £20bn bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland November 21, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has abandoned plans for a bridge or tunnel that would have connected Northern Ireland and Scotland. Johnson, a lover of grand infrastructure projects, heavily downplayed the prospects that the concept would ever get off the ground, downgrading it to merely an “ambition” that was “too expensive.” Johnson faced some derision after [...]
British Business Bank’s oversight of Greensill was ‘woefully inadequate’ with £335m of taxpayers’ money at risk November 20, 2021 A new report has warned that up to £335m of taxpayers’ money is at risk due to failures by the British Business Bank to properly scrutinise bust lender Greensill Capital. The Public Accounts Committee of MPs found that the bank, which oversaw the billions lent to businesses during the pandemic in loans backed by the [...]
It’s about time for Rishi Sunak to make his mind up on road tax for electric vehicles November 19, 2021 Britain is firmly on the front foot towards a transition to electric vehicles. Last week, as he unveiled a new design for charging stations, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he hoped they would become as iconic as the black cab. The government’s newly announced zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate will set electric vehicle sales targets [...]
‘Great train robbery’: Labour outrage at government cuts to HS2 November 18, 2021 Labour has labelled the government’s decision to cut the eastern leg of HS2, which would have connected Birmingham to Leeds, a “great train robbery”. Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed today, after a series of press stories this week, that the eastern leg of the high speed rail line will instead go from Birmingham to near [...]
British Patient Capital enjoys VC bumper year and boosts startup portfolio by almost a third November 18, 2021 British Patient Capital (BPC), the venture capital subsidiary of UK government-owned British Business Bank (BBB), today announced it committed almost £300m to investing in the growth of British startups in the year to March 2021. During the pandemic-defined year, its underlying portfolio of companies increased by almost a third from 503 to 676, with three [...]
Swelling energy bills propel inflation to 4.2 per cent, more than double Bank of England’s target November 17, 2021 Swelling household energy bills have propelled inflation to more than double the Bank of England’s target, dialling up pressure on the Old Lady to act to hose down red-hot price rises. Inflation scaled to 4.2 per cent in October, up sharply from 3.1 per cent in the previous month, according to the Office for National [...]
Reeves says Labour still committed to post-Brexit equivalence for the City November 16, 2021 Labour is still committed to getting a post-Brexit equivalence deal for the UK’s financial services sector if elected, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves told TheCityUK’s national conference today that, if elected, Labour will “fix some of the holes in the patchwork Brexit deal with the EU”. The UK’s financial services sector has not [...]