Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe: UK chemical manufacturing ‘having the life squeezed out of it’ January 13, 2025 Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned British chemicals manufacturing is having the “life squeezed out of it” by the government, and is on the verge of extinction. The business titan slammed the de-industrialising of Britain, which started in the 1970s and 1980s, and criticised the government for a lack of energy strategy and high [...]
Britain has enough gas, network says amid warnings stores are low January 11, 2025 Britain has enough gas, the network operator has said after warnings that stores are at “concerningly low” levels. National Gas said on Friday that supplies remain “healthy” and that Britain is “well-placed” to respond to demands this winter. It added that gas stocks kept at the UK’s storage sites are well-above half full. It comes [...]
British Gas owner Centrica: UK has less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store January 10, 2025 UK gas stores have fallen to “concerningly low” levels amid freezing cold temperatures, the owner of British Gas has said. Centrica said the UK now has less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store. On Thursday, stocks at UK gas storage sites were 26 per cent lower than the same period last [...]
Give parliament a vote on quantitative easing January 9, 2025 QE should not be the preserve of bean-counting central bankers – money printing is not an abstract issue, it has real consequences for people’s ordinary lives, says Sam Bidwell If one thing characterises British politics in the post-Thatcher era, it is a serial addiction to avoiding questions about the structure of our economy. On the [...]
PMQs: Siddiq ‘acted appropriately’ by referring herself to adviser, Starmer says January 8, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Tulip Siddiq has “acted appropriately” by referring herself to the independent adviser on standards and said he would not give “running commentary” of the recently announced probe into her finances. The City minister referred herself to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests on Monday, for [...]
Gloucester Rugby forced to pull Russia flag from player shirt January 8, 2025 Gloucester Rugby has been forced to remove a Russian flag from the shirt of one of their players after a complaint from a fan. The Cherry and Whites have operated a policy, since 2015, of rewarding their international stars with the flag of their Test nation on their club shirt. But Gloucester were forced to [...]
Starmer: Funding rules may be changed amid Musk’s interest in Farage’s Reform January 8, 2025 The government will look at potential reforms to political party funding, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as0 the Liberal Democrats raised the “spectre” of Elon Musk’s possible donation to Reform UK. Leader Sir Ed Davey asked the Prime Minister to change the rules around party funding amid the US businessman’s continued interest in British politics [...]
Shell warns of £1bn cash hit from emissions certificates payments January 8, 2025 Shell said it expects to take a $1.3bn (£1.04bn) cash hit in the final quarter from payments for emissions certificates. The energy major said on Wednesday that the charge is “related to timing of payments of emissions certificates” in Germany and the US. The London-listed company also said it expects profits in its gas business [...]
Lessons from the Gulag? Enemies of the people had entrepreneurial spirit January 8, 2025 A study mapping the link between gulags and regional growth in Russia can teach us something about reviving our own left behind towns.
Six months on, Labour’s pledge to restore trust in politics has proven nonsense January 7, 2025 Six months on, where have Labour's promises of radical reform gone, asks James Chapman in today's Notebook.