National insurance hike completely unnecessary says Brexit veteran Lord Frost as Tory calls to drop £12bn tax increase swell January 25, 2022 Lord Frost has urged Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak not to raise taxes in April as cost-of-living is set to increase for most Brits. The Prime Minister’s former Brexit chief joined the growing number of senior Conservatives to call for the planned national insurance hike to be scrapped. The former Brexit Minister – who resigned [...]
Boris Johnson did have surprise birthday party during lockdown and yes, it was indoors, No 10 admits January 25, 2022 Downing Street has admitted the Prime Minister did have a birthday celebration inside No 10 during the first lockdown. Downing Street conceded that staff “gathered briefly” in the Cabinet Room following a meeting after it was alleged 30 people attended and shared cake despite social mixing indoors being banned. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “A [...]
Sunak reportedly tries to distance himself from £12bn National Insurance hike January 23, 2022 Rishi Sunak is reportedly trying to distance himself from a £12bn National Insurance hike due to be enforced in April, with the chancellor telling Tory MPs that it is the “Prime Minister’s tax”. Backbench Conservative MPs are rallying for the chancellor to scrap the tax rise, with many complaining that it will come as families [...]
Business Secretary says households will have to wait until March for help with soaring energy bills January 21, 2022 Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said households must wait until March to find out what help the government can offer for rising energy bills.
And they’re off! The Tory party looks for alternatives amid Johnson struggles January 20, 2022 ON Tuesday morning of this week, the furore surrounding Boris Johnson’s attendance at a lockdown garden party in May 2020 appeared to be dying down in Westminster. The Prime Minister’s apology in the house had, it seemed, put judgment day on hold until the publication of the now infamous Cabinet Office report from Sue Gray. [...]
Rishi Sunak’s proximity to Johnson shot him to stardom but it could be his undoing January 20, 2022 Theresa May had a light smile on her lips as she expressed gratitude for the aviation industry and pressed the Prime Minister on his plans to drop testing rules for international travel. The one time Prime Minister was not the only Tory MP grateful for the joy of flight: Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, and [...]
UK inflation jumps to 5.4 per cent: Highest rate in almost 30 years January 19, 2022 The rate of Consumer Price Index inflation increased to 5.4 per cent in December from 5.1% in November, the Office for National Statistics has said. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: “The inflation rate rose again at the end of the year and has not been higher for almost [...]
Cancel the tax hike – inflation is biting into the recovery enough already January 18, 2022 ASK ANYBODY in and around Westminster what the ‘story of 2022’ will be and it’s hardly surprising that most point not to Downing Street parties or the pandemic but the cost of living. The Tories are acutely aware of the pain coming down the road – Labour keen to capitalise. Well, it’s already the story [...]
Labour calls on Treasury to do more to recover £5.8bn lost in Covid fraud January 18, 2022 Labour has called on the government to launch an investigation into how £5.8bn was stolen by fraudsters through Covid support schemes and for the Treasury do more to recover these funds. Shadow chief secretary the Treasury Pat McFadden told MPs that the government’s target of recovering a quarter of the stolen founds was tantamount to [...]
Sunak breaks cover to say ‘of course’ he believes PM in Downing Street parties saga January 18, 2022 Rishi Sunak has made a public appearance for the first time in a week to say “of course” he believes Boris Johnson’s claims that he thought lockdown-busting Downing Street parties were work events. Sunak said Johnson “has set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week” and refused to say whether he unequivocally [...]