Handbagged at the Kiln Theatre is a timely new show about the Queen September 14, 2022 This article is the first in a new series called The Lowdown, where we speak to writers, directors and actors to get the lowdown on their latest creative project And they say that life imitates art… Handbagged, a show featuring fictional accounts about the Queen’s weekly meetings with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, had always planned [...]
PM mulls tax hike U-turn as govt awaits Sue Gray’s report: ‘Boris would now do anything to survive’ January 28, 2022 While questions loom over the future of Boris Johnson’s premiership in light of an official inquiry into partygate allegations, the prime minister is reportedly wavering on controversial plans to raise national insurance. The PM is under pressure from some Tory MPs to scrap the tax hike to win back support as he awaits the findings [...]
Phones ringing in Canary Wharf as new Chancellor Kwarteng summons Britain’s bank and insurance chiefs September 7, 2022 The brand new Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, will set out the Government’s new economic approach to the bosses of UK’s major banks after he summoned the banking heavyweights to the Treasury for talks on his first full day in office. Along with the chief executives, the new occupant of No 11 Downing Street invited the leaders of [...]
Tories won’t probe groping claim against London mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski June 27, 2023 The Conservative Party has indicated it won’t open an investigation into an allegation of sexual assault by Tory mayoral candidate Daniel Korski. The party told the PA news agency that it “does not conduct investigations where the party would not be considered to have primary jurisdiction”. Daisy Goodwin, a TV producer and novelist, wrote in [...]
UK and EU ‘not far apart’ on NI Protocol, says Brussels’ ambassador to London November 10, 2022 London and Brussels are “not that far apart” on negotiations over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, according to the outgoing EU ambassador to the UK. João Vale de Almeida today said he was “encouraged” by Rishi Sunak’s meetings with EU leaders since becoming PM last month and by the recent mood music between the two [...]
Not many visitors recognised PM: Watch Boris Johnson having a ball at Peppa Pig World November 23, 2021 Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cartoon character Peppa Pig is “pure genius”, despite resembling a “Picasso-like hairdryer”, and described the theme park created for children as “very much my kind of place”. The PM’s comments followed a visit to the park a day earlier, even [...]
Westminster nervously awaits Sue Gray report on partygate as police probe shoots to top of Boris Johnson’s priority list January 26, 2022 Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said No 10 had still not received the Sue Gray report on Wednesday morning. Truss was asked on Sky News this morning: “Are we right in saying that Downing Street hasn’t yet received the Sue Gray report?” She responded: “That’s correct. And, of course, it’s an independent report, it’s a matter [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates – what does it mean for mortgages? December 14, 2023 The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25 per cent for the third time in a row, offering a glimmer of hope for the mortgage and property market. Steve Seal, chief of Bluestone Mortgages, said that today’s decision to leave rates untouched will be welcomed by “would-be and existing borrowers, who have felt [...]
Commonwealth is ‘unique’ opportunity for Global Britain after Brexit, says Boris Johnson ahead of leaders meeting in Rwanda June 20, 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that Britain’s membership of the Commonwealth provides a “unique opportunity” to expand its trade with a series of “vast and growing” markets now that it has left the EU. The Prime Minister, who will this week attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Rwanda, said economic links with [...]
Kemi Badenoch unveils £4.5bn funding plan for British manufacturing November 26, 2023 A multibillion-pound funding package for key manufacturing sectors will drive growth and boost investment in the UK, ministers have said.