Plan B curbs to put downer on otherwise historic year for UK economy February 8, 2022 The re-emergence of Covid-19 restrictions put a downer on an otherwise historic year for the UK economy, reveal new forecasts released today. The imposition of Plan B measures throughout December in a bid to tame the rapid spread of the Omicron variant caused the British economy to contract in the final month of 2021, according [...]
BP rebounds with 30-fold increase in profit amid surging oil prices February 8, 2022 Oil and gas giant BP has rebounded with fourth-quarter profits of $2.3bn and a replacement cost profit of $4.1bn.
Bank of England has undercooked inflation forecasts again, City economists warn February 7, 2022 The Bank of England has undercooked its forecasts for inflation again in a sign the cost of living squeeze will get worse before it gets better, reveals new estimates from City economists. Inflation will peak at 7.5 per cent in April, higher than the Bank’s expected peak of 7.25 per cent in its latest forecasts, [...]
Rishi Sunak’s cost-of-living hand out is a classic example of short-term, overburdened Treasury brain February 7, 2022 Last week, as the cake crumbs were cleared away and the fizz went out of the champagne, there was a serious announcement from the chancellor, Rishi Sunak. There had been an energy crisis looming, prices set to soar, and the government knew that this would feed into a damaging narrative that the cost of living [...]
Live to fight another day: Crucial week for Boris Johnson with new team on a mission to kill off backbenchers’ final concerns February 7, 2022 Boris Johnson is heading into a new week hoping changes to his top Downing Street team will ease the concerns of backbenchers who were wavering about his future. The Prime Minister made key changes over the weekend, appointing Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay as his new chief of staff and journalist and [...]
More than 1,000 London buildings require emergency fire measures including waking watches February 6, 2022 More than 1,000 buildings in London necessitate emergency measures, including security patrols, because of fire safety defects, five years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster. A total of 1,149 buildings in the capital need measures including ‘waking watches’, according to the latest data from the London Fire Brigade, which was first reported by the Evening [...]
Top economist says Bank of England’s failure to tackle inflation quickly will worsen cost-of-living crisis February 6, 2022 One of Britain’s top economists has accused the Bank of England’s of failing to act quickly enough to stop inflation from worsening the cost-of-living crisis. Gerard Lyons, a former economic advisor to both Gordon Brown and Boris Johnson, accused Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey of failing to “nip inflation in the bud” and taking [...]
Khan urges government to ‘get a grip’ on cost of living crisis February 5, 2022 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on the government to “get a grip” on the cost of living crisis, after energy prices were confirmed to rise by £700 this year. A new energy price cap coming into effect in April will see customers paying an average of £700 more a year. With runaway inflation, [...]
Council tax will cushion the cost of living crisis, but it accepts an outdated policy February 4, 2022 With inflation soaring, people are becoming increasingly desperate. Inflation is at record levels, sitting at 4.8 per cent in December and expected to soar as high as 7 per cent by April. The repercussions of this will be particularly strenuous on the most vulnerable. Indeed, the price of essential items that make up a larger [...]
Disbelief and outrage across EU as UK says it won’t do anything to stop end to Brexit food checks February 3, 2022 European media responded with shock and disbelief this morning after a minister in Northern Ireland ordered to end checks on food in his country and the UK declared it won’t do anything about it. Moreover, Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan is expected to announce his resignation by the end of the week, potentially later [...]