[ The bar for political honours is too low and risks undermining the system without reform, the Government has been warned. No 10 is facing backlash for slipping out an unexpected honours list which included Tory MPs and a businessman who gave £5m to the party. The inclusion of Sir Mohamed Mansour, a Tory treasurer … Read more
[ Rishi Sunak has been accused of “blatant disrespect” by Labour after giving a knighthood to a major Tory donor in a surprise round of honours. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, who was appointed as a senior treasurer of the Conservative Party in December 2022, has been awarded a knighthoood for “business, charity and political service”. … Read more
[ A major Tory donor has been given a knighthood in a surprise round of honours recommended by Rishi Sunak, No 10 has announced. Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, who was appointed as a senior Treasurer of the Conservative Party in December 2022, has been awarded a knighthoood for “business, charity and political service”. He donated … Read more
[ The water industry, the Tories and Labour have faced public outcry after new figures showed record amounts of raw sewage were pumped into Britain’s rivers and seas last year. Campaigners argue that Labour’s plans to beef up oversight of pollution should it win the general election are “feeble” while green Tory MPs argued that the … Read more
[ The Government is set to collect record inheritance tax receipts this year, according to the latest figures. The Treasury is on course to collect record receipts of £7.54bn, passing the previous record take £7.1bn collected last year. HM Revenue & Customs data for April 2023 to February 2024 showed it hauled in £6.8bn inheritance … Read more
[ Rishi Sunak appears to be safe for now but is likely to face a fresh leadership challenge if the Conservatives lose their mayors in the West Midlands and Teesside, Tory MPs have warned. The immediate threat to the Prime Minister’s authority has subsided after fevered speculation began to surface that a move could be … Read more
[ Making do with mushrooms when you ordered tampons or laundering clothes with Pils rather than Persil may seem ridiculous but are just some of the strange online shopping substitutions to emerge from a customer survey. Grocery shopping online has always been something of a game of Russian roulette but some random replacements defy all … Read more
[ Leaving interest rates high for too long risks harming UK households and the wider economy, a Bank of England rate setter has warned. The direction of inflation was “clearly downwards”, said Professor Swati Dhingra, who cautioned that even the smallest cut in interest rates would still be restrictive. “The evidence to err on the … Read more
[ The Home Office has sacked its chief immigration inspector after he claimed that high-risk aircraft are landing in Britain without security checks on passengers. David Neal “breached” the terms of his appointment and had “lost the confidence of the Home Secretary”, the department said. Mr Neal, who was independent chief inspector of borders and … Read more
[ Economists have urged Jeremy Hunt not to make spending reductions to fund tax cuts in the Budget, warning that the UK is “not in a good place” to do so. Mr Hunt is considering funding tax cuts in the March Budget with future spending cuts, as part of efforts to bring down the tax … Read more
