Cladding campaigners call for financial aid to cover remediation of other fire hazards January 9, 2022 Cladding campaigners have called on ministers to do more to help leaseholders of unsafe buildings facing “ruinous debts”. Housing minister Michael Gove is expected to announce tomorrow that leaseholders in buildings between 11 and 18.5m in height will no longer be forced to take out personal loans to cover the cost of removing dangerous cladding. [...]
David Frost tells PM to adopt more conservative policies or risk losing election January 9, 2022 Boris Johnson must adopt a low-tax agenda or risk losing the next election, according to former cabinet minister Lord David Frost. Frost, who resigned from his role as a Cabinet Office minister last month, said that Johnson needs to “get the country going economically again” post-Brexit and “that means free markets, free debate and low [...]
Why the energy crisis is set to derail the UK economy in 2022 January 7, 2022 A wave of concern over the swelling cost of living is sweeping across Britain. While households are bracing for higher tax bills and are already being stung by food prices leaping, it is swelling energy costs that will hit hardest in 2022. The UK’s benchmark gas prices have quintupled since January 2021, leaping from £54 [...]
Freezing personal allowance and higher rate tax rates will push 1.2m Brits over 40 per cent tax threshold January 7, 2022 New research shared with City A.M. this morning shows that over one million more people will pay a higher tax rate by 2026. The analysis by the House of Commons Library – first published in The Daily Telegraph – says around 1.2m additional workers will find their earnings going over the 40 per cent tax [...]
Sunak recommits to April National Insurance rise amid cabinet jitters January 6, 2022 Rishi Sunak has today recommitted to April’s National Insurance rise, after it was reported that he faced cabinet backlash over the measure this week. Sunak said today the tax rise is needed to deal with “an unprecedented level of backlogs within the NHS”, after it was reported that House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg called [...]
Which direction will the UK’s economic weather vane blow in 2022? January 6, 2022 It’s fair to say the last two years have been a turbulent one for the UK economy. The pandemic has upended working practices, supply chains and the monetary policy playbook. With the emergence of the Omicron variant leaving the spectre of coronavirus hanging over the country, it’s fair to say the British economy is not [...]
Tory tax revolt: Rees-Mogg comes out against Rishi Sunak’s planned national insurance hike January 6, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is urged this morning by Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg to ditch planned rises to national insurance. Rees-Mogg told Rishi Sunak at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting that the increase must be scrapped to stem the rising cost of living crisis engulfing the Government, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Prime Minister faced questions from [...]
Westminster watch: Four potential political scenarios to watch for in 2022 January 6, 2022 A new year has dawned on Westminster and 2022 is set to be another wild year in the world of British politics. With Boris Johnson suffering from the mid-term blues, Covid raging and Brexit far from settled there are bound to be many dramatic twists and turns this year. Here are four potential political scenarios [...]
Labour hits out at Boris Johnson for saying UK inflation fears are ‘unfounded’ January 5, 2022 Labour has attacked Boris Johnson for his allegedly complacent attitude on rising UK inflation, with deputy leader Angela Rayner hitting out at the Prime Minister for not easing the cost of living crunch for British families. Rayner, who was filling in today for a Covid-positive Sir Keir Starmer, called out Johnson in Prime Minister’s Questions [...]
Sunak warns allies of limit to government help on surging energy prices January 5, 2022 Rishi Sunak has warned colleagues there is little the government can do to abate soaring energy prices as he mulls whether to slash VAT on energy bills. The chancellor has reportedly told other government ministers that any government help on the cost of living crunch should be targeted at those who need it most. The [...]