Month: February 2020

A study suggests it would be fiscally responsible for the chancellor to raise more in taxes to help offset big spending increases. The new chancellor will have to raise taxes if the government's plan to "level up" the country is to be financially responsible, according to a study. The report, by the Resolution Foundation think tank, found Rishi Sunak's budget on 11 March had the potential to take the government's total managed […]

Jeremy Corbyn is to step down as Labour leader after the party's poor performance in the general election. Who could replace him?  Sir Keir Starmer After much speculation the shadow Brexit secretary confirmed he was standing on 5 January. A former director of public prosecutions, he has proved a continual headache for the last two Conservative governments as they tried to keep their Brexit shows on the road. In the first […]

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is "not sure" a UK-EU trade deal will be struck by 31 December, the end of the Brexit transition period. Mr Macron said negotiations starting in March will be "tense", with fishing rights a key point of contention. It comes as the UK government signalled it would publish its mandate for the trade deal later this week. In the document, ministers are expected […]

New immigration rules would make a "major recruitment crisis" worse and lead to a "severe" shortage of carers, Care Forum Wales has warned. Chairman Mario Kreft said pay levels would have to rise significantly to attract "home-grown" staff. The Welsh government said the plans showed an "alarming lack of understanding" of Wales' economy and would unnecessarily damage prosperity. The UK government said it would end the reliance on "cheap" immigrant […]

The UK Government is pursuing a “dangerous, damaging and isolationist” path on Brexit, according to Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary. Mike Russell said the Scottish Government is stepping up its “defence” against Westminster’s plans as it exits the EU. Boris Johnson’s administration is set to deliver a “hard, uncompromising, extreme Brexit, which rejects co-operation and collaboration and instead seeks to retreat into some mythical empire”, he said. Against that backdrop, Mr […]