Dowden says ‘our door always open’ to striking unions December 18, 2022 A senior minister has insisted that “our door is always open” to union bosses, despite refusing to engage in pay negotiations with striking nurses. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said today that “we’re always willing to talk” with the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), but that its 19 per cent pay increase demand is “not [...]
Ashes: Rishi Sunak goes in to bat for England after controversial Jonny Bairstow dismissal July 3, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has given his full backing to England Men’s Test captain Ben Stokes and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, following a heated final day at Lord’s involving a controversial dismissal. Sunak said he would “wouldn’t want to win a game in the manner Australia did”, when asked to comment on the incident yesterday. The [...]
60 Uber Eats and Deliveroo drivers arrested amid Home Office ‘crackdown’ on illegal working April 24, 2023 Some 60 fast food delivery drivers have been arrested across London as the Home Office cracks down on alleged illegal working. Gig workers employed through Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat were arrested between 16-21 April following a “week long crackdown” on illegal workers led by the Home Office. Following the arrests, the department said [...]
House prices “resilient” for now – but will the election throw them off course? May 31, 2024 UK house prices are standing up to the challenge of expected ‘higher for longer’ interest rates and political uncertainty, according to the latest data. Nationwide’s closely watched house price index showed a 0.4 per cent month on month jump in property prices in May, signalling a 1.3 per cent annual growth rate. Whilst still lagging [...]
New AI principles hint at pro-innovation future of UK regulation September 19, 2023 Britain’s competition watchdog has set out guidelines to steer the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which lawyers suggest could be a blueprint for a pro-innovation future of AI regulation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed seven principles to guide the use and development of the foundation models that underpin AI giants like OpenAI’s [...]
Labour and Just Stop Oil donor says there’s “no kind of deal” on party policy July 2, 2023 Green energy industrialist Dale Vince has denied being “an eco-zealot” as he defended his £1.5m donations to Labour. Vince told Sky News he was not seeking to influence leader Sir Keir Starmer by giving cash to the party and that there was not “some kind of deal going on”. The Ecotricity owner accused the “right [...]
Second strike: Nurses walk out again as five key London hospitals decimated December 20, 2022 Nurses in Britain will go on their second day of industrial action in the space of a week with five London hospitals to be the centre of the strikes. The hospitals to be affected include Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Guys and St. Thomas’ and Imperial College Healthcare, Royal Marsden and NHS North Central London. [...]
Even a complete reversal of the mini-budget won’t fill the giant fiscal hole created October 14, 2022 In August, we were promised a new Budget under the new premiership of Liz Truss. In September, it was downgraded to a mini-Budget when the Government decided not to ask the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to mark its homework, or set out a new economic outlook. The market fallout from this disastrous decision [...]
Explainer: The Netherlands join the microchips war against China June 30, 2023 Today the Netherlands dealt a significant blow to China, restricting sales of machines used to make chips. From September, Dutch companies making machines that produce advanced processor chips will need an export licence to sell their products overseas. The Dutch government has been at pains to specify this policy is “country neutral”, but it’s clear [...]
No property policies: Lack of housing ideas from Truss and Sunak branded ‘deeply alarming’ July 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss need to put tackling the housing crisis at “the top of their list” if they become Prime Minister, a major housing association told City A.M. this morning. The National Association of Property Buyers said a whole generation of people faced being unable to own or rent a property due to [...]