Rishi Sunak delivered his second Budget as chancellor with a further £65 billion boost for businesses and workers hit by the pandemic, but the focus has been on the biggest tax rises for half a century. The Financial Times labels the budget a “spend now, tax later Budget” while the Conservative supporting Telegraph headlines their […]
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Rishi Sunak is set to announce the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of September in with the chancellor pledging to use the “full firepower” at his disposal to protect jobs. The chancellor unveils full details of his budget tomorrow (Wednesday) when he also expected to cut VAT for hospitality firms, keep the […]
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Health secretary Mat Hancock has hailed the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines which reduces the risk of illness and hospitalisation in older adults by up to 80%. Data released by the government has shown that a single dose of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine significantly cuts the likelihood of people aged over 70 becoming seriously ill. […]
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Furious campaigners have launched a petition to try and stop a US private health insurance company taking over 49 NHS GP surgeries in London. The government is being accused of “privatisation by stealth” of the NHS and is facing calls for an investigation after it emerged one of the UK’s biggest GP practice operators is […]
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Nicola Sturgeon is facing off a growing rebellion in the ranks of the SNP and has been accused of using “weasel words” to question the innocence of Alex Salmond, who was cleared of committing sexual offences in March last year. Former deputy leader of the SNP, Jim Sillars has lodged a formal complaint that Sturgeon […]
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Sir David Attenborough issued a stark warning to world leaders that humanity’s future is at a tipping point in an historic address to the UN Security Council. The nonagenarian broadcaster and environmentalist said “climate change is the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced,” one that may “destroy entire cities” and “alter […]
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Boris Johnson has laid out England’s exit from lockdown, declaring “the end is in sight” on the day the UK passed 129,498 deaths of people with Covid-19. The prime minister’s “cautious but also irreversible” road map out of lockdown is, he hopes, a “one way road to freedom” where even nightclubs could be open on […]
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The DUP has launched a legal challenge to the Northern Ireland protocol, part of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal with the EU. Arlene Foster said the protocol has driven “a coach and horses” through the Act of Union following the change in trading between Northern Ireland and Britain since the start of 2021. “Fundamental to the […]
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Health secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to publish details of multibillion-pound coronavirus contracts awarded by the government, a High Court judge has ruled. Mr Justice Chamberlain said Hancock had “breached his legal obligation” by failing to publish details of the contracts within 30 days, adding the public has a right to know where […]
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Sir Keir Starmer has laid out his vision for the Labour party and the UK – one he hopes will be funded by the £250 billion saved by Britons during the pandemic. The Labour leader has called for a ‘moral crusade’ to create a fairer, more prosperous society, saying the pandemic has demonstrated “a deadly […]
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