Khan calls for London to get bigger slice of Levelling Up cash from government December 14, 2022 Sadiq Khan has called on Rishi Sunak to give London more cash from the government’s signature Levelling Up fund to tackle “the capital’s own substantial inequalities”. The London mayor said the capital was missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds of government money post-Brexit. New figures from City Hall show London has received £76 [...]
Rishi Sunak warns his cabinet about ‘challenging’ winter of UK strikes December 13, 2022 Rishi Sunak has warned his cabinet that winter will be “challenging” as widespread industrial action ramps up and as the economic downturn deepens. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman today said the “government will do all we can to minimise disruption”, while calling for union bosses to get back to the negotiating table. Today marks the [...]
Kwarteng was warned by Treasury boffins about market reaction to mini-Budget December 12, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng was warned by senior civil servants about a potential adverse market reaction to measures announced in the catastrophic mini-Budget, it has been revealed. Beth Russell, second permanent secretary at the Treasury, today said she told the former chancellor that financing £50bn of tax cuts through borrowing could spook the markets. Financial markets reacted [...]
Cleverly says ‘comfort blanket allies’ not enough as he vows wider UK engagement December 12, 2022 Britain cannot rely on its traditional “comfort blanket allies” and must expand its engagement with developing countries, foreign secretary James Cleverly has said. Cleverly said the UK’s relationships with western countries were “rock solid”, but not enough to “sustain the international order”. The speech, Cleverly’s first major intervention as foreign secretary, signalled a move away [...]
Number 10 full of praise for ‘compassionate’ Gareth Southgate December 12, 2022 Number 10 has heaped praise on Gareth Southgate, while stopping short of saying whether he should continue as England manager. Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said today that “the whole country can be proud” of Southgate and his players, after England exited the World Cup in the quarter finals on Saturday. Speculation is rife over Southgate’s [...]
Christmas strikes: Government to hold crisis meetings as army called in December 11, 2022 The government will hold a series of crisis meetings this week to try and minimise disruption during widespread Christmas strikes, with the government now calling in the military. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden will convene two Cobra meetings with ministers from several departments as the UK faces crippling strikes in hospitals, airports and railways. The [...]
City minister says ‘world’s moved on’ from post-2008 financial services reforms December 11, 2022 City minister Andrew Griffith has said “the world’s moved on” since the 2008 global financial crisis in an attempt to calm concerns about the easing of the UK’s bank ring-fencing regime. Griffith told City A.M. that the regulation, which will be relaxed as a part of newly announced post-Brexit reforms, was acting as “an impediment” on some [...]
Sunak delays Northern Ireland Protocol Bill in bid to strike deal with EU December 11, 2022 Rishi Sunak is set to delay plans to unilaterally rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill as he tries to broker a deal with Brussels to fix the post-Brexit treaty. The Prime Minister has decided not to bring the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill back to the House of Lords this year, after UK-EU relations [...]
Cleverly says China has threatened key UK institutions in lead up to major speech December 11, 2022 James Cleverly has warned that China has threatened a number of the UK’s key institutions in the lead up to his first major speech as foreign secretary. Cleverly today said “China has threatened a number of those foundation stones that we feel are important”, while also maintaining that Britain needs to cooperate with Beijing on [...]
Hunt to unveil post-Brexit Big Bang 2.0 for UK financial services industry December 8, 2022 Jeremy Hunt will finally unveil the government’s plans to shred EU financial services laws today as he proposes a package to boost the City’s global competitiveness post-Brexit. Hunt will deliver the landmark announcement in Edinburgh this morning, with the chancellor set to drop Solvency II capital requirements on insurance firms and ease current bank ring-fencing [...]