Massive civil service office complex approved for Manchester February 24, 2025 A huge new tech-focused Government office complex in Manchester has been given planning permission. The 5.5 acre project, which could support as many as 7,000 civil service jobs in the city, will bring together a range of government departments with a focus on technology. “The new digital campus plays to Manchester’s strengths. We have fostered [...]
Checkatrade CEO: ‘My plan to get Britain growing again’ February 20, 2025 The chief executive of Checkatrade has revealed what he would like the government to change in order to boost British businesses and get the country growing again. Speaking during an up-coming episode of Morning Wire’s Boardroom Uncovered interview series, Jambu Palaniappan argued Labour should reform the rules around planning permission to made it easier for [...]
IFS: UK must intervene to stop ‘ridiculous’ proliferation of small pension pots February 12, 2025 The government should clamp down on the “ridiculous” proliferation of small pension pots, a leading think tank has said. The growing number of these small-scale funds puts up costs for pension providers and makes it more difficult for savers to make sensible decisions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued. “Further action is needed to [...]
UK seeking ‘strong trade relationship’ with US amid tariffs, Starmer says February 2, 2025 The UK will seek a “strong trading relationship” with the US, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as the threat of a trade war looms after Donald Trump announced new tariffs. The US president has introduced a 25% levy on goods coming from Mexico and Canada, and a 10% trade tax on Chinese goods, which will [...]
Yvette Cooper defends Sir Keir Starmer amid ‘HR manager’ claims February 2, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer stands for “respect and hard work”, one of his most senior ministers has said after the Prime Minister was likened to “an HR manager”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the Plan for Change – a set of milestones which the Prime Minister fronted – as “clear”, when asked about Sir Keir’s alleged [...]
High street sales grow but threat of closures looms February 1, 2025 High street sales grew in January but the gains failed to offset volume losses last year, leading analysts to warn of closures as costs mount. Total retail sales in discretionary spend categories grew by 7.1 per cent in January, although this comes off the back of a 0.8 per cent drop last January, according to [...]
Starmer positions the UK as a trailblazer in AI innovation January 13, 2025 Keir Starmer has thrown the weight of Whitehall behind AI in a bid to boost growth and position the UK as a world leader in the sector. On Monday morning, Keir Starmer revealed the UK’s ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’, a transformative strategy to establish the UK as a global leader in AI. He said: “The [...]
The runners and riders to replace under-fire City minister Tulip Siddiq January 10, 2025 Downing Street is reportedly weighing up a number of potential candidates to replace Tulip Siddiq as her position as City minister comes under increasing pressure. Siddiq, the niece of ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina, has been in the headlines since last month when she was named in an investigation into whether her Bangladeshi family embezzled [...]
Government announces post-Oasis ticket resale clampdown January 10, 2025 The government has said it will intervene to tackle ticket touts after a recent wave of frustration around inflated resale prices. As part of the government’s broader Plan for Change, a public consultation has been announced to stop exploitative practices in the ticket resale market and to improve transparency for fans. The announcement comes after [...]
Metro mayors to control railways and housing in ‘landmark’ devolution plans December 16, 2024 Mayors of large cities and regions across England will soon be able to take control of local infrastructure and skills projects under a new devolution bill, which was introduced in Parliament today. The English Devolution White Paper will give metro mayors – directly elected regional leaders who chair combined authorities – significant new powers in [...]