Prime Minister to chair Cabinet in Sunderland ahead of Downing Street Brexit light show January 30, 2020 Britain will formally leave the European Union tonight at 11pm, more than three and a half years after the historic referendum vote. Boris Johnson will host a cabinet meeting in Sunderland today, visiting the city which first gave indications of the momentous result when its vote to leave was announced in the early hours of [...]
Sadiq Khan interview: The London mayor talks tech tax, Brexit, Labour and Uber January 30, 2020 There can be no doubt that last year’s General Election redrew Britain’s political landscape. But for an example of just how different things have become, consider that next week a Labour mayor of London will warn a Tory chancellor against imposing new taxes on multinational tech giants. Sadiq Khan tells me he enjoys a good [...]
Friday marks the end of the beginning of the Brexit battle January 29, 2020 One of Winston Churchill’s many gifts was his ability to summon the force of his rhetoric as a means of divining the feeling of the British nation. His passionate invocations in the dark days of the summer of 1940, when the UK stood alone against the Nazi menace, were masterpieces of fighting spirit, helping to [...]
As Vodafone quits, who’s left at Facebook’s Libra project? January 22, 2020 Vodafone has withdrawn from the organisation overseeing Facebook’s efforts to launch its Libra digital currency, making it the latest in a string of big companies to abandon the project. Facebook’s Libra project has faced intense scrutiny from regulators and politicians across the world over the social media giant’s plans for the launch of the stablecoin [...]
Downing Street to hold light display to mark Brexit Day as Unions Jacks fly January 17, 2020 Downing Street has announced that it will hold a light display on 31 January to mark Britain leaving the European Union. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the nation that evening, the black bricks of his official residence will light up with the display, featuring a clock counting down to 11pm. Buildings around Whitehall will [...]
Carillion two years on: ‘Misery’ as major hospitals in Liverpool and Birmingham still unfinished January 17, 2020 The government has faced yet another round of criticism for its handling of the collapse of outsourcer Carillion, more than two years after the company failed – this time over two hospitals it was building when it went bust. The government spending watchdog said in a report that the hospitals, in Liverpool and the west [...]
Boris Johnson calls on public to crowdfund Big Ben Brexit bongs January 14, 2020 Boris Johnson has urged the public to chip in to a crowdfunding campaign so that Big Ben can ring out to celebrate the UK’s departure from the EU. The Prime Minister called on Brits to “bung a bob for a Big Ben bong” after it emerged that the projected costs of the celebratory chimes had [...]
London’s legal tech status burnished by $5m US investment in startup Juro January 7, 2020 London’s status as a hub for legal tech was boosted today by the investment of $5m (£3.8m) in contracts startup Juro in a funding round led by a US firm that backed Twitter and Kickstarter. Juro is an end-to-end contract management platform with customers such as Deliveroo and Skyscanner. The company today announced it has [...]
Andrew Bailey: Three issues the new Bank of England chief will have to tackle January 5, 2020 A safe pair of hands. That’s the cliche about the new Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who will take over the position from Mark Carney in March. The City and the British public will be hoping it is correct. Bailey does indeed have about as much experience of the BoE as it is possible [...]
Well done, Boris — now it’s time to fix the UK’s infrastructure and access to talent December 16, 2019 Now that the dust has settled on last week’s election, the new Conservative government led by Boris Johnson faces the urgent task of getting on with delivering a programme that benefits households and businesses across the UK. Christmas may be around the corner, but the hard work starts now. The City of London Corporation will [...]