Darren Jones: Keir Starmer moves rising star to Labour’s shadow treasury team September 4, 2023 Labour MP Darren Jones has been appointed shadow chief secretary to the treasury, in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle of his top team. Jones made headlines and viral TikToks as he clashed with Royal Mail, Amazon and P&O bosses in his role as business and trade select committee (BTC) chairman. He will now serve alongside shadow [...]
Claire Coutinho replaces Grant Shapps as energy secretary August 31, 2023 Claire Coutinho has been appointed energy secretary in a promotion to a top cabinet role, amid a mini-reshuffle of the Prime Minister’s core team. It follows Grant Shapps moving over to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after defence secretary Ben Wallace resigned from cabinet ahead of stepping down as an MP at the next general [...]
Calls to cut taxes show ‘questionable judgement’, economists warn August 23, 2023 Economists have warned that calls from Conservative MPs for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut taxes after improved borrowing data emerged show “questionable judgement”. Three backbench Conservatives piled the pressure on, according to the Financial Times, with calls for “personal tax reductions” to “stimulate the economy”. The pleas came after figures from the Office for National [...]
Financial watchdog to ask MPs about debanking experiences August 15, 2023 British politicians are to be asked to reveal whether they have encountered problems or faced being “debanked”, as part of an inquiry by the UK’s financial watchdog. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it is looking into the rules surrounding politically exposed persons (PEPs), which includes MPs. The regime was thrust into the spotlight after [...]
Taxpayers shell out record amount on government spending August 15, 2023 British taxpayers spent a record amount this year funding government spending, a top think tank has calculated. Workers have spent more than 60 per cent of 2023 with their incomes going towards paying off the government’s spending and borrowing, according to the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). Today, August 15, marks, what it has dubbed as [...]
Poor tax scrutiny has enabled abuse and fraud, MPs warn July 26, 2023 Poor scrutiny of the “complex” tax system has led to relief abuse and even fraud, an influential finance committee of MPs have warned. The Treasury Committee is calling for a systematic review into the cost of over a thousand forms of tax relief which they say are “complex, un-costed and exploited” in a new report. [...]
Monarchy’s funding recalculated after boost to Crown Estate’s revenue from wind farm deals July 20, 2023 The Sovereign Grant – which is used to fund the monarchy’s official duties – will make up just 12 per cent of the Crown Estate’s net profits next year, down from 25 per cent, the Treasury has announced. The change has been introduced following a significant boost in the Crown Estate’s profits from offshore wind [...]
Sexism in the City: MPs to investigate barriers for women and ‘alpha male’ culture in finance July 14, 2023 MPs are set to investigate barriers faced by women in finance, in a new probe into sexism in Canada. The treasury committee is calling for evidence for its inquiry into progress on ending gender pay gaps and how firms, government and regulators can tackle misogyny and harassment. Harriett Baldwin, treasury committee chairwoman, [...]
Families unfairly penalised by UK tax system, CPS report warns July 10, 2023 The UK tax system must be reformed so that families are no longer unfairly penalised, a think tank has warned. Couples with two children and a single earner of £60,000 will pay over £7,000 more tax than if both parents earned £30,000 each, Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) researchers found. Research found single-earner married couples [...]
Jeremy Hunt unveils plans to boost pension funds’ investment July 10, 2023 Jeremy Hunt is set to announce hotly-anticipated plans to supercharge pension funds to invest in high-growth sectors and boost British businesses. The Chancellor will spell out his plans today to encourage schemes to invest cash in infrastructure, startups and green tech – in a bid to rocket power the UK’s growth while avoiding adding to [...]