UK’s £50bn black hole: Brits face a long, cold winter full of spending cuts and fresh tax hikes November 1, 2022 After barely a week in office, Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister, and his equally new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are expected to move ahead with tax rises for millions of Brits. As early as next week, Sunak and Hunt will most likely extend a freeze on the thresholds at which people start to pay the [...]
All eyes in Brazil nervously shift to Bolsonaro as president keeps eerily quiet after Lula victory November 1, 2022 More than a day after Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro lost his bid for re-election of South America’s largest country, the right-wing leader has neither conceded defeat nor challenged the results of the country’s closest political contest in more than three decades. Bolsonaro had not spoken a word to reporters camped outside the official residence or [...]
UK should ‘future proof’ economy via cutting-edge green tech, says Kemi Badenoch November 1, 2022 International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch thinks the UK must “future-proof” its economy by investing in cutting-edge green technologies In a speech to the green trade and investment expo in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, later today, Badenoch will say new technologies to combat climate change are creating high-paying skilled jobs while providing a route to future [...]
Starmer says Tories are ‘dragging feet’ in making platforms pay for news November 1, 2022 Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls to make social media platforms pay for news content, accusing the government of dragging its feet on the matter. Writing for campaign group Journalism Matters, the leader of the opposition said that big tech’s dominance of the online advertising space is to the detriment of consumers, other rivals and [...]
Hunt and Sunak face £89bn fiscal hole without tax rises or spending cuts November 1, 2022 Without spending cuts or tax rises, prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt will burn a £89bn hole in the public finances in a few years time, a new report out today reveals. A combination of former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cuts in the shambolic 23 September mini-budget still lingering and a flatlining [...]
Call-in powers would be a grave threat to the regulator’s vital independence October 31, 2022 Politicians should be wary of the damage they could do to our regulators’ reputation for independence if they move forward with call-in powers Independence is a funny old thing. At a national level, it can be won and lost in the blink of an eye. At more prosaic levels, building up independence – and a [...]
‘It’s going to be rough’: Hunt and Sunak set to announce autumn tax hikes October 31, 2022 Jeremy Hunt is set to announce tax rises in his fiscal statement next month, after holding talks today with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today. The Treasury said the chancellor and Prime Minister agreed “tough decisions are needed on tax rises as well as spending”, with a Treasury source warning “it’s going to be rough”. The [...]
Sunak to confirm plan to give Treasury call-in powers over City regulators October 31, 2022 Rishi Sunak is set to push ahead with plans to give ministers the power to overrule decisions made by City regulators. The Treasury has confirmed the government will still go-ahead with the Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng initiative, despite concerns from the Bank of England about the measure. The new call-in power will see ministers [...]
Braverman admits sending government files on personal emails six times October 31, 2022 Suella Braverman has admitted to sending government documents from a personal email on six occasions before she was sacked as home secretary for the security breach. Braverman, who was brought back as home secretary by Rishi Sunak, said in a letter to a Westminster committee that it happened because she needed her work phone to [...]
Stunning comeback: Lula da Silva seizes power in Brazil after ruthless election October 31, 2022 Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will become Brazil’s next head of state, giving the leftist former president another shot at power in a rejection of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right politics. Da Silva received 50.9 per cent of the vote and Mr Bolsonaro 49.1 per cent, according to the country’s election authority. Yet hours after the [...]