Rishi Sunak confirms end of England Covid lockdown on 2 December November 22, 2020 Rishi Sunak has confirmed England’s national Covid lockdown will end on 2 December and that the country will instead move into regionalised restrictions. The chancellor said this morning that Boris Johnson will make an announcement tomorrow setting out the details of the post-lockdown Covid plan. A statement from Downing Street this morning said that the [...]
Rishi Sunak to unveil multi-billion pound spending boost in bid to woo regions November 21, 2020 Rishi Sunak is set to unveil plans to pour billions of pounds into infrastructure projects in a bid to woo regions and narrow the UK’s north-south divide. The chancellor will next week announce the launch of a new UK infrastructure bank, based in northern England, which will play a crucial role in fuelling the country’s [...]
MPs demand answers from Rishi Sunak on PPE procurement November 20, 2020 MPs have demanded an explanation from chancellor Rishi Sunak on the government’s awarding of contracts to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, following a damning report from the UK’s accounts watchdog. At least £18bn-worth of PPE contracts signed by the government showed “a lack of transparency” and were missing essential paperwork, the National [...]
How does the UK’s capital gains tax compare to other nations? November 20, 2020 How does the UK's capital gains tax compare to other nations?
Boris Johnson vows ‘no return to austerity’ amid plans to freeze public sector pay November 20, 2020 Nearly 4m public sector workers may face a pay freeze next year, including soldiers, police officers, teachers and civil servants
Treasury rebuffs calls from City banks for help chasing bad debts from Covid loans November 20, 2020 Treasury rebuffs calls from City banks for help chasing bad debts from Covid loans
UK borrowing drops to £22bn in October but deficit hits new record November 20, 2020 The UK government’s borrowing dropped sharply in October as companies and individuals required less economic support, with spending on the furlough scheme almost quartering. Public sector net borrowing came in at £22.3bn last month, down sharply from a downwardly revised figure £28.6bn a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It was also [...]
Singing of arms and the man: Behind the big Boris defence announcement November 20, 2020 The announcement was preceded, of course, by a leak to the media, so that it could make a splash in the morning press. Standard practice these days, unfortunately — but the story was still an impressive one: the Prime Minister was giving the Ministry of Defence an extra £4bn a year for the next four [...]
Little ‘Christmas cheer’ as UK consumer confidence falls November 20, 2020 New coronavirus restrictions and rising cases knocked UK consumer confidence in November, a survey has shown, as people became more gloomy about their future economic health. The closely watched consumer confidence index from researcher GfK fell two points to minus 33 in November, its lowest reading since June. Britain’s economy has been hit particularly hard [...]
London business groups urge Sunak to give capital its fair share in spending review November 19, 2020 A pair of London business advocacy groups have called for the capital to receive significant amounts of funding in Rishi Sunak’s spending review next week amid fears the city could be overlooked. London First and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry told City A.M. that it was vital the capital was not forgotten by [...]