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☆ Labour's Sadiq Khan wins re-election as London mayor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hopes to convince U.S. tech firms to invest more in London. Sadiq Khan was re-elected as London's mayor, final results showed on Saturday, helping to cement the Labour Party's commanding lead over the governing Conservatives in local elections ahead of Britain's national vote later this year. For Labour, London is the latest of a number of councils and mayoralties it has won in the local elections, which took place on Thursday, inflicting heavy losses on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives. Opinion polls predict that Labour will win the next national election, propelling its leader Keir Starmer to power and ending 14 years of Conservative government in Britain. Khan, 53, who became the first Muslim mayor of the British capital in 2016, has pledged to build more social housing and work with a future national Labour government to boost police capacity.

Persons: London Sadiq Khan, Sadiq Khan, Rishi Sunak's, It's, Khan, Susan Hall, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak Organizations: U.S, Labour, Conservatives, Tory, Conservative, Labour Party, Labour government Locations: London, Britain

☆ UK Opposition Labour Party Pledge Productivity Fix in Latest Pitch to Business
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party will pledge to fix Britain's stagnating productivity at a conference for businesses on Thursday, its latest charm offensive to companies and investors ahead of a national election expected this year. Keir Starmer, leader of the left-leaning party, will tell assembled executives that Labour will "get under the bonnet to fix an unprecedented stagnation in British productivity growth." "The depth of the changes we've made to transform the Labour Party's relationship with business is something I take immense pride in," he will say, according to extracts released by the party. Ahead of the conference, the party's finance policy chief Rachel Reeves said that Labour would champion Britain's financial sector and not bring in a new cap on bankers' bonuses. Labour also wants closer economic ties with the European Union, including deeper co-operation with the bloc on financial services.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Rachel Reeves, Alistair Smout Organizations: Labour Party, Labour, Economic, Conservative, Business, Growth, European Union Locations: Davos

☆ Barclays CEO says difference in Labour and Conservative economic policy is 'fairly minimal'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LIVERPOOL, U.K. - Oct. 11, 2023: Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer applauds a speaker the final day of the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, on October 11, 2023. Paul Ellis | Afp | Getty ImagesPolitical risk in the U.K. is "far less than it's ever been" as the difference between the ruling Conservative Party and main opposition Labour on economic policy is "fairly minimal," Barclays CEO C.S. The U.K. is set to hold a General Election later this year, and the latest polling consistently suggests a landslide Labour victory, bringing an end to fourteen years of Conservative rule. "I think the political risk in the U.K. is far less than it's ever been," Venkatakrishnan told CNBC at WEF. The difference in economic policies between the two, and they're both striving to say so, are fairly minimal," he said, referencing two former British leaders.

Persons: Keir Starmer applauds, Paul Ellis, Venkatakrishnan, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Rachel Reeves, Margaret Thatcher, James Callaghan, Labour's Organizations: LIVERPOOL, Labour Party, Afp, Getty, Conservative Party, Labour, Barclays, C.S, Conservative, Labour's Shadow, Economic, CNBC Wednesday, CNBC, WEF, British Locations: Liverpool, England, Davos, Switzerland

☆ Labour leader Starmer praises Thatcher in bid to woo UK Conservative voters
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's Labour Party, speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions, at the House of Commons in London, Britain November 29, 2023. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party, has praised former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a deeply unpopular figure among many Labour supporters, as he seeks to woo Conservative voters before an election expected next year. Thatcher, dubbed the "Iron Lady" by the UK press at the time, was Britain's Conservative leader from 1979 to 1990. "Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them," Starmer wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. After hailing Thatcher, Starmer wrote that Labour had "changed dramatically in the last three years".

Persons: Keir Starmer, Jessica Taylor, Handout, Britain's, Margaret Thatcher, Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Thatcher, Tony Blair, Clement Attlee, Jeremy Corbyn, Victoria Atkins, Margaret Thatcher's, Michael Holden, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Britain's Labour Party, REUTERS, Labour Party, Labour, Conservative, Sunday Telegraph, Sky News, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

[1/5] Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves 11 Downing Street for the House of Commons to deliver his autumn statement, in London, Britain, November 22, 2023. "After a global pandemic and energy crisis, we have taken difficult decisions to put our economy back on track," Hunt told parliament on Wednesday in his Autumn Statement fiscal update. Hunt pointed to OBR forecasts showing the government would meet its targets for the public finances, leaving open the possibility of further pre-election giveaways to voters in his full budget statement expected in early 2024. Sunak this week promised "responsible" tax cuts, mindful of last year's "mini-budget" turmoil in financial markets triggered by his predecessor Liz Truss's plans for much bigger tax cuts. This time last year, the newly installed Sunak and Hunt raised taxes sharply to quell the bond market mayhem.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Stefan Rousseau, Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, Paul Johnson, we've, giveaways, Johnson, BoE, Philip Shaw, Liz Truss's, Muvija M, Paul Sandle, Sarah Young, William James, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill, James Davey, Suban Abdulla, Farouq Suleiman, Kate Holton, Sumanta Sen, William Schomberg, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Labour, Labour Party, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Gross, Reuters Graphics, Bank of England, Graphics, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British

☆ UK's next government will find tax rises hard to avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But tax rises will be very hard to avoid for whichever party forms the next government, says James Smith, a former Bank of England economist who is research director at the Resolution Foundation, which focuses on issues affecting low and middle earners. For earlier governments, the main way to increase tax levels has been to raise the rate of national insurance - a payroll tax paid by employers and employees - and, in the Conservatives' case, higher value-added tax. Annual GDP growth averaged 2.0% from 2010-2019, compared with 3.0% from 1997-2007. Asked on Sunday about widespread reports of looming tax cuts, Hunt told Sky News: "Everything is on the table ... Higher-than-expected inflation has boosted tax revenue and overall GDP in cash terms, giving more leeway against fiscal targets as most public services' spending budgets are fixed.

Persons: Susannah Ireland, Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, James Smith, Smith, Britain's, It's, Carl Emmerson, Hunt, Foundation's Smith, David Milliken, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Labour Party, Bank of England, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Britain, Conservatives, Fiscal Studies, Foundation, Reuters, Monetary Fund, Institute for Government, Sky News, British, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Ukraine

☆ UK Conservative lawmaker Bone faces suspension for misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Member of the Parliament Peter Bone arrives at a private reception attended by Boris Johnson, leader of the Britain's Conservative Party, in central London, Britain July 23, 2019. The Independent Expert Panel found that Bone committed "many varied acts" of bullying and one act of sexual misconduct against a staff member in 2012 and 2013. The suspension, if backed by parliament, triggers a recall petition in Bone's constituency of Wellingborough in central England. "As I have maintained throughout the proceedings, none of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place," he said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. The recommendation for Bone's suspension comes after he appealed a previous decision by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards that upheld allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct.

Persons: Peter Bone, Boris Johnson, Henry Nicholls, Rishi Sunak's, Bone, Sunak, Farouq Suleiman, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: Britain's Conservative Party, REUTERS, Sunak's Conservatives, Labour Party, Conservatives, Labour, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bone's, Wellingborough, England, Scotland

☆ Conservative UK lawmaker formally quits with scathing attack on PM Sunak
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - UK member of parliament Nadine Dorries has delivered a scathing attack on her Conservative Party's leader Rishi Sunak in her formal resignation letter, accusing the prime minister of running a "zombie parliament" and lacking any political vision. "Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. "You hold the office of prime minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. A former finance minister and investment banker, Sunak became prime minister in October last year after being the only candidate to be nominated in a party leadership contest. "In your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy," said Dorries.

Persons: Nadine Dorries, Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, Dorries, Sunak, Johnson, Liz Truss, Kylie MacLellan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Conservative, Labour Party, Conservatives, Labour, Sunak's Conservatives, Thomson Locations: Sunak

☆ Britain to grant over 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | Thomson Reuters | Sachin Ravikumar Is A Correspondent For Reuters In London Covering General News Across The Uk. Over Nine Years At Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Britain will grant more than 100 new oil and gas licences in the North Sea as part of efforts to tap domestic supplies and become more energy independent, the government said on Monday. Sunak said the new licences would support domestic supply, reduce reliance on hostile states, boost jobs in the sector and reduce the carbon footprint when compared with an alternative option of importing liquified natural gas. The oil and gas industry regulator expects the first of the new licences, which will continue to face climate compatibility tests, to be awarded in the autumn, the government said. It also said the new licences could be offered close to already licensed areas to unlock oil and gas reserves faster thanks to existing infrastructure and previous assessments. It has pledged to stop new oil and gas exploration licences in the North Sea.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young, Kate Holton Organizations: Sunak's Conservatives, Labour Party, Thomson Locations: Britain, Scotland, England, North

☆ Boris Johnson's shock exit reverberates through British ruling party
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks at the parliament in London, Britain, March 22, 2023. He also took aim at current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. lawmaker Andrea Jenkyns wrote in a Conservative Party WhatsApp group, according to a screenshot shared by a Sky News reporter. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats opposition party, said Johnson jumped before he was pushed. "He was never fit to be an MP let alone Prime Minister of our great country," Davey said.

Persons: Boris Johnson, Peter Nicholls, Boris Johnson's, Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Rishi, Andrea Jenkyns, Jenkyns, Dame, Boris, John Redwood, Johnson's, Henry Hill, Hill, Nadine Dorries, Angela Rayner, They've, Ed Davey, Davey, Andy Bruce, Mike Harrison, Frances Kerry Organizations: British, REUTERS, Peter Nicholls LONDON, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Conservative, Conservative Party WhatsApp, Sky News, BBC, Sunak's, Liberal Democrats, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Downing, Brexit

☆ UK Conservatives suffering 'terrible' night with local election losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Peter CziborraLONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives were facing a bleak set of local election results with voters punishing his party over political scandals, sluggish economic growth and high inflation, early results showed on Friday. The Conservative Party suffered a net loss of 144 seats on local councils that were up for re-election, the early results showed. Johnny Mercer, a member of parliament for the area, said it had been a "terrible" night for the Conservatives. The Labour leader Keir Starmer visited Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent during local election campaigning as the party threw resources into winning back control of the councils. The last time most of these local election seats were contested was in 2019 when the Conservatives lost more 1,300 seats, shortly before the then prime minister Theresa May was forced to resign, which had been expected to help limit the losses in these elections.

☆ Britain denies plan to expel asylum seekers breaks law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We are confident that we are complying with the law, domestic and international," she told the BBC. Under the government's plans, almost all asylum seekers who reach Britain in small boats will be detained without bail before they are deported to their home country or, if this is not safe, another destination such as Rwanda. They will also lose the right to challenge their deportation while in Britain, and once deported will be automatically banned from returning. Last year, a record 45,000 people came to Britain in small boats across the Channel, mainly from France. If everyone who arrived in small boats last year were detained, this would be equal to about half of Britain's total prison population.

☆ Setting out growth plan, UK opposition Labour warn Britain is in downward spiral
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer prepares for his speech to delegates at Britain's Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 26, 2022. Labour has promised to ensure Britain has the fastest growing economy among the G7 on a sustained basis if it wins power. Britain's economy narrowly avoided a recession according to data published earlier this month, but faces a difficult 2023 as the effects of double-digit inflation hit households. Labour cited the latest available World Bank data showing Gross Domestic Product per capita in Britain at $44,979 in 2021 and $34,915 in Poland. The party said that, based on average 0.5% annual growth between 2010 and 2021 in Britain, that figure would fall behind Poland's per capita GDP by 2030 if Poland kept up its 3.6% average annual growth.

☆ Britain's Sunak touts EU protocol progress in Northern Ireland, no deal yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Amanda Ferguson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After weeks of intense London-Brussels talks, momentum has been building towards a deal to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol - the arrangements agreed to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland when Britain exited the EU in 2020. "I had positive conversations with political parties in Northern Ireland," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. In Belfast, Sunak focused his attention on the Democratic Unionist Party, whose opposition to the protocol must be overcome to make any deal work. The other political parties that met Sunak on Friday said detail from the prime minister on a potential deal was "scant". Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the militant Irish Republican Army that wants Northern Ireland to split from the UK and unite with Ireland, became the province's largest party for the first time at elections last year.

☆ UK's Labour comfortably beat PM Sunak's Conservatives to retain parliamentary seat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party retained a parliamentary seat in the northwest of England on Friday, comfortably winning the vote in the first electoral test for Rishi Sunak as prime minister. Labour candidate Samantha Dixon won the City of Chester constituency, securing 61% of the vote, compared to 22% for the candidate from Sunak's Conservatives. The next national election is expected in 2024. Curtice said the scale of the swing could indicate Labour winning an outright majority in parliament at the next national election, but noted that local elections were rarely a good guide. Labour have held the Chester seat since 2015, when it was the most marginal seat in the country.

LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earned cheers from his lawmakers and plaudits from political commentators on Wednesday as he locked horns with the opposition Labour Party in parliament for the first time since becoming leader. "My record is, when times are difficult in this country I will always protect the most vulnerable," Sunak said to vociferous support from the Conservative benches in the House of Commons. Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 26, 2022. Sunak's Conservatives saw their standing in opinion polls sink to multi-year lows as Truss stumbled through her six weeks as prime minister. "The only time he ran in a competitive election, he got trounced by the former prime minister who herself got beaten by a lettuce," Starmer said.

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