Ever since Chancellor Rishi Sunak turned on the spending taps to save Britain’s businesses amid the lockdown, there have been grumblings in the Tory Party about the gigantic bill that will need paying after the crisis. One can therefore only imagine how they’ll react on discovering that the party’s own coffers could also soon run … Read more
Thatcherite free-market think-tanks have said there should be no return to austerity once Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending boost to beat coronavirus is over – as a top economist says slashing public expenditure is ‘not a done deal.’ The Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Policy Studies, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange, previously … Read more
Think of Chancellor Rishi Sunak as a smiling salesman of payday loans, and you will begin to get the picture. ‘Yes, of course you can have the money. Happy to help!’ he says as he hands over the wads of notes. But it will not be the cheery face of Mr Sunak that you see … Read more
Grim economic news is something we have had to get used to in the past two months but yesterday was something of a body blow. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that he was extending the jobs retention scheme until October is the most ominous of all the amendments and additions to the bailout for the economy … Read more
Britain’s bill for the pandemic could hit £300billion and force tax rises, cuts to the state pension and a public-sector pay freeze, a Treasury document warns. A paper drawn up for Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the austerity-style policies – including drastic cuts to public spending and welfare – may have to be announced within weeks … Read more
The Boy Wonder returns! Rishi Sunak came bouncing back into Parliament yesterday, which these days can mean only one thing. Another splurge of Government cash to make Sir Elton John’s last shoe-shopping trip look like a trip to Poundland. Mr Sunak had been summoned from his Whitehall batcave by his opposite number Anneliese Dodds to … Read more
Rishi Sunak concedes recession is already happening in grim warning of hard times to come as he extends the furlough scheme again Sunak said it was clear June deadline for furlough would have to be extended Told MPs scheme would continue ‘completely unchanged’ until the end of July Furlough been accessed by 935,000 businesses since … Read more
What is happening to the furlough scheme? The multi-billion pound furlough scheme is being extended to October. Employees on the scheme will continue to receive 80 per cent of wages, up to a ceiling of £2,500 a month. Until the end of July, there will be no changes to the scheme whatsoever. From August to … Read more
Some Britons have developed ‘furlough fever’ and are enjoying ‘a paid holiday’ at home too much to return to work with the situation ‘getting worse every day’ the multi-billion pound scheme continues, experts warned MailOnline today. Bosses are struggling to persuade some staff to come back as the lockdown eases with some people openly refusing … Read more
Rishi Sunak will set out next week how he intends to ‘wind down’ the government’s coronavirus furlough scheme amid fears within Whitehall that the nation is becoming ‘addicted’ to state help. The Chancellor is widely expected to start to reduce the scale of the scheme from July after it emerged it has a current monthly … Read more