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 [...]
Tech Special: The jobs, sectors and countries most at risk of automation and robotics in 2022 January 5, 2022 Digital change and automation are driving enormous productivity gains in the world of work. However, the rapid changes mean many individuals, businesses and even entire nations will be hugely impacted by automation and tech, with some roles and jobs to be replaced by robots altogether. Many of the industries that are most at risk of [...]
Consumers should brace themselves for runway energy bills as price rises that overwhelmed suppliers in 2021 start to trickle down January 4, 2022 Consumers should brave themselves for runaway household bills this year as the energy sector continues to struggle with soaring gas prices, which consigned a string of energy suppliers to the graveyard in 2021. Energy suppliers had been paying 54p per therm of gas at the beginning of last year. By September 2021, that had reached [...]
Back to the future: transforming the City into a home January 4, 2022 It might be hard to stay optimistic about the future of city centres with the Omicron variant once more causing concern. Yet, not too long ago London was back to full swing. Coffee shops were buzzing again, bars and restaurants were full and office workers were playing tube tetris each morning. This shouldn’t feel like [...]
Brits face cost of living assault on all fronts in 2022 January 4, 2022 Brits are facing a cost of living crunch on all fronts in 2022, reveal fresh figures released today. Prices in shops accelerated 0.8 per cent in annually in December, just the second time prices have risen in over two years, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The rise has been driven by food retailers [...]