UK banks launch new low-deposit mortgage scheme April 19, 2021 High street banks will today begin offering mortgages with a deposit of just five per cent under a new government-backed scheme. The scheme, first announced in the Budget, is designed to make home ownership more affordable for first-time buyers. Borrowers will be able to secure a mortgage with just a five per cent deposit on [...]
All living Prime Ministers out of politics set to give evidence at lobbying inquiry April 18, 2021 Every living former Prime Minister that is not still involved in Westminster politics will be asked to give evidence at a major parliamentary inquiry into lobbying and anti-corruption. The probe is set to be announced tomorrow and it will be ran by Westminster’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs committee (PACAC). David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair [...]
Cabinet minister says David Cameron did nothing wrong in Greensill lobbying scandal April 18, 2021 Environment secretary George Eustice has defended David Cameron for his role in the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal, saying the former Prime Minister did nothing wrong. Eustice said today that Cameron “meticulously observed the rules” around lobbying, but that he perhaps should have written instead of texted ministers when working for the failed finance firm Greensill [...]
National Audit Office launches investigation into Greensill’s involvement in Covid loan schemes April 16, 2021 The National Audit Office (NAO) has launched a probe into supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital following its collapse. Last month the supply chain finance firm appointed Grant Thornton as its administrators, warning it is in “severe financial distress” as its practices came under severe scrutiny. Now the NAO will investigate Greensill’s involvement in the [...]
An ethical dilemma: Penguin Random House made huge sales during the pandemic, but kept the furlough cash April 15, 2021 A little over twelve months ago, Rishi Sunak pumped unprecedented amounts of money into the economy to help ensure businesses could make it through the pandemic – saving as many jobs as possible. Now, as we begin to take our first tentative steps out of the third national lockdown, businesses are under no illusion that [...]
Number 10 defends taxpayer-funded vaccine film April 14, 2021 Number 10 has defended the production of a taxpayer-funded film documenting the UK’s “extraordinary” vaccine rollout, insisting it was produced in-house and within departmental budgets. The trailer for A Beacon Of Hope: The UK Vaccine Story was released more than four weeks ago, with the full version billed as “coming soon”. The 30-minute film was originally [...]
Live events: UK to launch pilot insurance scheme as part of sport and culture reopening April 14, 2021 Live events: UK to launch pilot insurance scheme as part of sport and culture reopening
Treasury Select Committee launches inquiry into Greensill Capital scandal April 14, 2021 Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee has today launched an inquiry the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal. Committee chair Mel Stride said MPs would “take a closer look” at the circumstances surrounding efforts by David Cameron and former senior civil servant Bill Crothers in lobbying on behalf of the failed finance firm. A statement from the committee said [...]
Keir Starmer hits out at ‘return of Tory sleaze’ over Greensill scandal April 14, 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of overseeing a “return of Tory sleaze” over the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal. Starmer told MPs today that the government needed to “overhaul the whole broken [lobbying] system”, while also calling for a full Westminster-led inquiry into Greensill Capital’s links with ministers. Labour is introducing an [...]
Britain has a productivity problem – but we have the tools to solve it April 14, 2021 Budgets come and go. There is a huge buildup, the papers are filled with speculation and leaks, and in the days before excitement in Westminster reaches fever pitch. It is one of the few times when you will find all backbench MPs avidly reading government documents in detail because they know the details matter. Most [...]