Chancellor Rishi Sunak: The City could be set for a post-Brexit Big Bang 2.0 January 11, 2021 Rishi Sunak believes the Square Mile is set for a post-Brexit “Big Bang 2.0” and that the City’s “culture and creativity” will see it to greater, global heights. In a candid interview with City A.M., the Chancellor also pushed back against criticism of the UK’s trade deal with the European Union, saying that it should [...]
Rishi Sunak: Working from home will not be the new normal post-Covid January 11, 2021 Widespread full-time working from home will not become a permanent fixture of the UK economy and central London is destined to come back to life post-Covid, according to Rishi Sunak. The chancellor told City A.M.’s The City View podcast that he’s “desperate” for “the buzz, the vitality and the creativity” that cities generate and that [...]
250,000 UK small businesses may fail in 2021 unless they get help to survive lockdown January 11, 2021 With the new year starting in lockdown, at least 250,000 UK small businesses could fail in 2021 without further help, a new study warns. The Small Business Index (SBI) from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows confidence is at its second lowest ebb in the report’s ten-year history. The London Small Business Index stands [...]
The City View: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak January 11, 2021 The City View is back for 2021 with a new format, a new host and a very special guest, with City A.M.’s Andy Silvester talking to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS The pair discuss the Government’s response to the pandemic, the future of cities and whether the work-from-home [...]
Rishi Sunak calls for return to ‘sustainable finances’ ahead of March budget January 11, 2021 Rishi Sunak has reiterated the need to return to “sustainable” levels of government spending as he foreshadows future Budget cutbacks. Sunak told City A.M.’s The City View podcast in an exclusive interview that the Treasury’s £280bn Covid spending over the past year was “the right thing to do”, but that “over time” he had to [...]
BDO: Business output fell to lowest levels on record in 2020 January 10, 2021 UK business output fell to its lowest ever levels in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by accountants BDO has found. BDO’s output index averaged 73.62 last year, the lowest figure since the measure was introduced in 2005. Previously, the lowest annual average had been 83.28, which was recorded during 2009’s financial [...]
Sir Keir Starmer: Don’t hit UK families with tax hikes January 10, 2021 Sir Keir Starmer has called for the government to reverse its decision last year to effectively raise council taxes, while casting Labour under his leadership as the “party of the family”. Starmer said the “importance of family hasn’t been talked about enough during this crisis” and that the country’s households deserve “far more from a [...]
Rishi Sunak to delay tax hikes until after March budget amid mutant virus strain January 9, 2021 The chancellor is reportedly expected to delay plans for tax rises until after his March budget as concerns rise over the huge economic impact of the pandemic, with cases of the new mutant strain of coronavirus spreading across the country. Rishi Sunak has previously warned that government debt built up during the crisis could become [...]
Screenshot: Will Sunak save music festival season? January 8, 2021 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: Reporting from the ruins of democracy **A rallying cry to save music festivals **Youtube, Talk Radio and the quagmire of online regulation Media Moment of the Week I usually [...]
New televised daily Downing Street press conferences postponed January 7, 2021 Downing Street’s planned televised press conferences have been indefinitely postponed due to the latest Covid lockdown. The White House-style briefings, which will be led by new Number 10 press secretary Allegra Stratton, were supposed to begin on 11 January. Downing Street said today there would instead be press conferences three times a week starting from [...]