Showing 1 to 12 of 20 result(s).
Through the looking glass: Rishi the tax-and-spend Thatcherite
Over the past eighteen months, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has spent hundreds of billions of pounds to prop up public services, people’s wages, and businesses. Clearly focussed on the post-pandemic rebuild, yesterday’s budget was Sunak’s first opportunity to move on from crisis-management mode and set the tone for his chancellorship. Tasked with balancing … Continued
This was an easy budget for Rishi Sunak to deliver. He’s under limited pressure from his own party (for now) to set out how he will pay for the pandemic-related spending that kept the British economy afloat. The red wall Tory MPs in northern red wall seats will be pleased to see the spending continue. … Continued
Wannabe Thatcherite Rishi Sunak believes that the path to the premiership he craves runs through a low tax agenda that revs the engines of the tory backbenchers and grassroots party members that decide leadership elections. But he also knows that the prospects of a fifth Conservative general election victory are dead in the water if … Continued
Food & Nutrition Newsletter – Trick or (adequately labelled) treat?!
While you were out pumpkin picking, policymakers in Brussels and London spent the month of October carving out the future of the food and nutrition sector, not least as COP26 is fast approaching. Boo! With the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions (it may not last long!), Members of the European Parliament embarked on their monthly … Continued
Government relaxes trade rules between GB and NI… This week, the British government moved unilaterally to relax trade rules between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As part of the Northern Ireland Protocol, signed between London and Brussels to ensure a common arrangement for the future of Northern Ireland after the UK’s departure from the EU, both parties agreed on a grace period during which procedures and customs … Continued
The government has published its long-awaited Skills White Paper setting out its plans for reforms to post-16 technical education and training to support people to develop the skills needed to get good jobs and improve national productivity. Coming at a point that sees education for a whole cohort of youngsters already badly disrupted for nearly … Continued
2021 began with a feminist bang when the “luxury” tax rate previously applied to period products was finally axed. Although this is a big step to ending period poverty and stigma, there’s still a long way to go. Here’s how the tax was axed and where the period conversation is headed. Tampon tax was introduced … Continued
Remember how last November saw much speculation in the national media that Boris Johnson would step down from his premiership as soon as February this year, and how I disagreed robustly with that suggestion? Well, where are those gloom-mongers today? Let’s just pause and regroup by considering what has been achieved already and what 2021 … Continued
Talk of Boris Johnson being in the declining days of his premiership is not only premature, but fundamentally flawed. Like him or loathe him, and I admit our Prime Minister is political Marmite, the fact is that he has demonstrated over many years an incredible capacity to bounce back from crises that would be the … Continued
Brexit 5: Tensions continue to bubble away, as another lockdown looms
De-facto internal border in Kent proposed Earlier this week, the government announced that truck drivers will need a permit to enter Kent after the Brexit transition period ends. The announcement came after a letter from cabinet minister Michael Gove warned that, without a free trade deal, queues 7,000-trucks-long could clog up roads around the port … Continued
Brexit 5: The UK is doubling down but the EU shows no sign of folding
Thirty to forty per cent chance of a Brexit deal – I do not like those odds With a fixed date for the end of the transition period and all summer to negotiate, Boris Johnson and his team led by David Frost were optimistic about the chances of having completed a free trade deal before … Continued
Finish line in sight David Frost, the UK’s Chief Brexit Negotiator, said he was aiming to have a deal with the European Union by the end of September. He will be going into a seventh round of negotiations with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier next week, with issues such as fisheries, law enforcement and trade all on the agenda. Mr Frost said on Twitter, “As we keep … Continued