47 countries removed from UK red list at 4am, including South Africa and Thailand October 11, 2021 Forty-seven countries were removed from the red list at 4am this morning, meaning arrivals from those locations will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel. This includes South Africa, Mexico and Thailand. The changes make it easier for people to obtain travel insurance for trips to those destinations. In addition, the [...]
Letters: No sympathy for Boris or business October 11, 2021 [Re: Business leaders bash Boris, 7th October] I write further to your newspaper’s article regarding the criticism of the Prime Minister’s alleged “economic illiteracy” by various business people, including the Federation of Small Businesses. I suspect that Boris Johnson’s critics will attract little sympathy from the general public This is especially true given that [...]
Watch as DWP Secretary Therese Coffey sings ‘The Time of My Life’ as benefit cuts come into force October 7, 2021 It appears the Work and Pensions Secretary sang (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life during the Conservative Party conference just hours after the Universal Credit cut came into force. Therese Coffey was captured on video performing a rendition of the power ballad with welfare minister Will Quince during a karaoke session in Manchester in [...]
UK lifts travel advice against non-essential travel to 32 countries as rules are relaxed October 7, 2021 Bangladesh, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana and Malaysia are among 32 countries and territories for which travel advice based on the risk of coronavirus has been relaxed, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said. The UK will stop advising Britons to avoid all but essential travel to non-red list countries on Covid-19 grounds except in “exceptional [...]
Britain’s economic adjustment only ends in one way October 7, 2021 The ails of the nation’s favourite sausage roll maker are a microcosm of the problems afflicting the UK economy. In a trading update yesterday, high street baker Greggs warned it is suffering from a “supply of ingredients.” A couple months back, it pulled its iconic chicken bite for similar reasons. Severe shortages plaguing the British [...]
IFS: Council tax hike is looming over Brits October 7, 2021 Brits are facing the prospect of further tax hikes down the line that will intensify the cost of living crisis already squeezing household finances. Council tax could have to rise by as much as five percentage points per year for the next three years, according to the economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies [...]
Mark Carney slammed over fossil fuels ahead of COP26: ‘Watering down rules for finance’ October 7, 2021 Just weeks before the UK hosts the COP26 climate summit, around 90 climate groups have written to UN Special Envoy Mark Carney and place ads in the Financial Times and Toronto Star today, urging him “to stop greenwashing financial institutions that continue to invest in expanding fossil fuel infrastructure.” The groups said that, while his [...]
Boris Johnson is gambling on the war-on-woke to keep rioting Tories at bay over taxes October 7, 2021 Boris Johnson is a man not used to picking up the tab. During his tenure at the Spectator, he infamously never repaid the interns who bought him coffees and in Downing Street he has tried to palm off the bill for everything from his curtains to Daylesford Organic ready meals. Before the pandemic, while crucial [...]
Putin on the pressure: Gas prices up and down on volatile day October 6, 2021 NATURAL gas prices hit record highs early yesterday before plummeting after Vladimir Putin said he would ramp up gas supplies to Europe. November natural gas futures contracts scaled to a record high of 404p per therm, the first time they have ever breached the £4 mark. In the last year alone, prices have risen by [...]
Boris Johnson vows to transform economy in policy-light party conference speech October 6, 2021 Boris Johnson has vowed to transform the UK into a “high wage, high skill” economy in a Tory party conference speech that was heavy on rhetoric and short on policy. In a classic Johnson speech, the Prime Minister made a bevy of jokes about Labour, numerous literary references and promises to “build back better” and [...]