Reform UK has urged energy industry leaders to scrap their reliance on net zero targets, with deputy leader Richard Tice warning there is “no democratic mandate” for higher energy costs. In a meeting with 11 senior industry figures, Tice – who also serves as the party’s energy spokesman – said a Reform government would focus on delivering “abundant, reliable and ...
British consumers are increasingly turning to tax-free shopping trips in Europe, with spending in the EU up 16% so far this year compared to 2024, according to new data from the Association of International Retail (AIR). The figures highlight how UK shoppers are taking advantage of the EU’s VAT rebate scheme for tourists, introduced for British visitors in 2021 after ...
Employment minister Alison McGovern has warned that “job deserts” and high rates of long-term sickness are holding back towns and cities across the UK, leaving too many people “on the scrap heap” and stifling local economies. Speaking as the Government unveiled new plans to boost recruitment through Jobcentre Plus, McGovern said concentrated pockets of economic inactivity were harming both individuals ...
Former Dragons’ Den star Julie Meyer has been stripped of her MBE after being found in contempt of court over a long-running dispute involving almost £200,000 in unpaid legal fees. The 58-year-old US-born venture capitalist, awarded the honour in 2011 for services to entrepreneurship, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence after repeatedly failing to submit documents or attend hearings. ...
The UK’s largest gambling companies have lost more than £4 billion in market value amid mounting fears that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will target the sector with higher taxes in her autumn Budget. Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, Entain, which operates Ladbrokes and Coral, and William Hill’s parent company Evoke all saw steep share price declines on Friday following ...
Soho House has reported a sharp rise in profits after capping new memberships in London, New York and Los Angeles to address overcrowding concerns, with billionaire chairman Ron Burkle reviving plans to take the business private. The London-founded members’ club posted an operating profit of just under $60 million (£44.6 million) in the three months to July, up from $35 ...
HSBC has reversed plans to leave Canary Wharf, signing a 15-year lease for 210,000 sq ft of office space in the Docklands financial district after a shortage of desks prompted a rethink of its London strategy. The move comes just weeks after chief executive Georges Elhedery ordered all managing directors to be in the office at least four days a ...
Republican senators offered a range of responses when pressed on how the Trump administration has been handling the Epstein files controversy, with some calling it a distraction and others arguing the American people are ‘entitled’ to answers. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the ‘first phase’ of declassified files related to Jeffrey Epstein Feb. 27, noting the move was following through ...
In a sweeping move aimed at rolling back pandemic-era mandates, the Trump administration on Friday directed all federal agencies to erase any records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, prior mandate noncompliance or exemption requests. The guidance, issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), was a response to recent litigation and is part of a broader push to ...
Walter Olson When a dispute comes to court, it’s routine for judges to issue short-term orders aimed at freezing existing conditions long enough for the court to determine whether it has authority to hear the case and make sure its jurisdiction is not defeated by the removal or destruction of some relevant piece of property or person in custody. After ...