Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak is under fire for being “missing in action” in California while British businesses battle against the Omicron variant’s devastating impact on Christmas spending and the UK’s economy. The Bank of England shocked markets with an unexpected hike in interest rates today (December 16) to 0.25%, increasing the cost of […]
Continue Reading
Boris Johnson faces a rebellion from up to 60 of his backbench MPs on Tuesday (December 14) over new Covid restrictions amid warnings the Conservative party is “drifting into authoritarianism”. The prime minister addressed the nation on Sunday (December 12) night and laid out the risks to the NHS of the Omicron variant as he […]
Continue Reading
Scientists have said Boris Johnson’s Plan B to tackle the coronavirus pandemic is at risk over the Christmas parties scandal engulfing the Conservatives. Reports that the Tories held “up to seven” parties in lockdown – including a “raucous” event at Conservative party headquarters on December 14 last year – have added to the consternation caused […]
Continue Reading
The London FTSE 100 index has fallen further following concerns raised about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against the new Omicron variant. The CEO of pharmaceutical giant Moderna has predicted a “material drop” in the efficacy of current vaccines and warned that “all the scientists I’ve talked to [about the new variant] … are like, […]
Continue Reading
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is not unwell, according to a statement from his spokesperson who insists Boris Johnson “is focused on the issues that we face as we come up to the winter months and delivering on important changes like social care.” Johnson is “well and he is focused on delivering for […]
Continue Reading
Care homes across England could be forced to close because of staff shortages that have been worsened with today’s (November 11) introduction of mandatory vaccinations for all care home staff. The latest figures show 32,000 care home workers remained unvaccinated against Covid-19 and leaders of the sector have warned the “inevitable” loss of thousands of […]
Continue Reading
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced almost £26 billion of public spending commitments ahead of Wednesday’s (October 27) budget and spending review. Strong investment in public services, business support and help for working families will be at the heart of Sunak’s third budget with big spending planned for infrastructure projects, innovation and skills training. Digitalising the […]
Continue Reading
The UK recorded 52,009 new Covid cases in the latest 24 hours – the first time the number has topped 50,000 in three months and the highest since July 17 – representing a 17.9% increase in the last seven days. The daily number of patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus (data provided on October 17) […]
Continue Reading
The government is set to break a manifesto promise by raising taxes in order to pay for reforms to the UK’s crisis-hit social care system. Boris Johnson assured voters he had a plan to sort out social care two-and-a-half years ago while the 2019 election manifesto explicitly promised not to raise rates on national insurance, […]
Continue Reading
A shortage of HGV drivers is threatening supermarket supplies with firms warning some shelves may be empty for months to come unless the government acts to address the labour shortage. Councils across the UK have also been forced to suspend waste collection services due to a lack of drivers with the Environmental Services Association (ESA) […]
Continue Reading