Rebel Tory MPs launch anti-lockdown campaign group November 11, 2020 Dozens of rebel Conservative MPs have launched a new group aimed at blocking the rollout of another national lockdown. Former chief whip Mark Harper and Brexiter Steve Baker will lead the new Covid Recovery Group, while Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee, is also a member. The group will argue for a [...]
Pandemic leads UK consumers to cut carbon emissions in 2020 November 11, 2020 Carbon emissions from six key consumer spending categories were 12% lower at the end of October than they were the year before, according to analysis from Lloyds Banking Group and the Carbon Trust. Despite the overall fall the analysis found emissions rose 26% between the second and third quarter of the year as spending increased [...]
Andy Haldane: Gap between poor and rich to be ‘stretched’ in wake of pandemic November 10, 2020 The Covid-19 crisis will likely “stretch” the income gap between the rich and poor, according to Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane. Speaking in a Channel 4 interview, Haldane, who is a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and chair of the government’s Industrial Strategy Council, said the pandemic would likely lead to [...]
Editorial: A week that offers good news for the capital November 10, 2020 It’s hardly a 200 watt halogen bulb, but word of a potential vaccine does at least provide a flicker of light at the end of this interminable 2020 tunnel. After a year of unrelentingly negative headlines, it counted as unalloyed good news. Not just for our fight against the virus, but for the capital too. [...]
British chemicals firm strikes $100m deal with Pfizer to produce Covid vaccine November 10, 2020 A British chemicals firm has inked an agreement with Pfizer to supply additives for the company’s breakthrough coronavirus vaccine, in a deal that could be worth as much as $100m (£75.5m). Yorkshire-based Croda International today announced it has reached a five-year agreement with the US pharmaceuticals giant to produce four components in the production of [...]
Rapid Covid tests to be rolled out across majority of London boroughs November 10, 2020 Rapid coronavirus tests are set to be rolled out across the bulk of London boroughs, as part of government plans to step up asymptomatic testing across the country. Lateral flow tests, which have a turnaround time of as little as 15 minutes, will be sent to 21 out of London’s 32 boroughs this week. The [...]
Deloitte warns of heightened going concern risks as pandemic rumbles on November 10, 2020 Big four audit giant Deloitte has warned there is likely to be more reporting of uncertainties relating to going concern as unpredictability surrounding the pandemic continues. Deloitte audit partner Ann Aspinall told City A.M. that as uncertainties around the pandemic continue and as the economic environment becomes more challenging, “there is likely to be an [...]
Addison Lee launches click and collect delivery service November 10, 2020 Online taxi service and courier Addison Lee has launched a new delivery service that will enable customers to use drivers as their own click and collect collectors. Al REQUEST is a new click and collect feature that has been added to its existing courier service. It will allow users to get access to everyday items [...]
Dido Harding slammed for ‘three per cent’ Test and Trace success rate November 10, 2020 Baroness Dido Harding has been slammed by MPs for the “three per cent” success rate of England’s contact tracing programme, as the Test and Trace chair faced her first formal grilling in the Commons. Health and social care committee chair Jeremy Hunt pressured Harding to explain why only “three per cent of the total theoretical [...]
UK unemployment hits four year high as redundancies reach record levels November 10, 2020 Redundancies hit a record high in the three months to September while the unemployment rate jumped, according to new figures which show the UK’s labour market declined rapidly before the chancellor U-turned on coronavirus support measures. A record 314,000 British workers were made redundant in the three months to September, 181,000 more than in the [...]