Page 19 - Uk Govt

Blow to UK PM Liz Truss: Chief Whip Wendy Morton reportedly resigns

In yet another blow to UK Prime Minister Liz Truss after Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Wednesday tendered her resignation, it is alleged that Chief Whip Wendy Morton resigned

UK Parliament in London celebrates Diwali with prayers, candles

Prayers for peace recited by priests from the Hare Krishna Temple and the lighting of candles marked this year's Diwali celebrations in the Houses of Parliament complex in London. The celebration was held in the State Rooms of the Speaker's House, described as the grandest residence within the Palace of Westminster, on Monday evening. It marked the largest Diwali event of its kind in the Parliament complex, which brought together cross-party parliamentarians, diplomats, community leaders and International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) representatives. I would like to wish all communities celebrating Diwali peace and joy, both here and across the world, said Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Opposition Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer joined Bhaktivedanta Manor ISKCON Temple President Visakha Dasi, veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma and Liberal Democrat House of Lords peer Navnit Dholakia to light the candles following prayers concluding with Om ...

UK PM insists of leading Conservatives into next general election

Despite the ongoing political upheaval, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has insisted of leading the ruling Conservative Party into the next general election

Asia stocks rise as relief rally builds after UK U-turn on fiscal policy

Asia stocks nudged higher as the dramatic U-turn in British fiscal policy brightened investor sentiment, while the US dollar took a breather at its lowest levels in more than a week

UK reverses bulk of September tax-cutting package to calm markets

The UK government has announced a reversal of the bulk of its September tax-cutting measures in yet another emergency action to ensure economic stability

New UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt admits mistakes, warns of tax rises

Jeremy Hunt, the new UK Chancellor appointed by Prime Minister Liz Truss after she sacked her friend Kwasi Kwarteng in an attempt to calm the ongoing economic and political crisis, admitted on Saturday that mistakes were made by his predecessor and signalled a reversal of his tax-cutting approach. Hunt, a former Conservative Party leadership contender who is dubbed as the most powerful man in the UK government as Truss battles to win back her credibility, also indicated that spending cuts would have to be brought in across all state departments to deal with the tough economic climate. He acknowledged that the mini-budget tabled by Kwarteng at the end of last month had two mistakes cutting the 45-pence rate of tax for highest earners, an announcement since reversed, and announcing the tax-cutting package without independent costings by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). "The way we went about it clearly wasn't right and that's why I'm sitting here now," he told the ...

UK PM Truss brings in rival who could steady the ship, or take her job

Under-pressure UK Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing Kwasi Kwarteng after just 38 days in office

Tata Steel says actively engaged with UK govt for financial support for biz

Homegrown steel major Tata Steel is actively engaged with the UK government for financial support for its business there, a company spokesperson said on Friday, amid reports of the Tatas looking to divest their steel business in the UK. "Tata Steel is seeking support from the UK government in two forms. In policy terms by encouraging the transition to green steel and ensuring a cost competitive landscape, and partnership in financing of the project given the size of investment and the financially constrained position of our UK business," the spokesperson told PTI. The company at present is in active and detailed discussions with the UK government with relation to the future of the business. Currently, it is not in discussions with any potential buyers for the UK business, the spokesperson added. Tata Steel owns the UK's largest steelworks at Port Talbot in South Wales and employs around 8,000 people across all its operations in the country. The company is seeking 1.5 billion pounds

Climate activists throw soup on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' in National Gallery

The activists, who are a part of a group called "Just Stop Oil" wants the British government to halt new oil and gas projects

UK PM Liz Truss sacks finance minister Kwarteng: Here is what happened

Kwarteng recently said that he was 'absolutely, 100 per cent' confident that he would be in post in November despite rising rebellion

UK announces additional GBP 10 mn aid for flood relief efforts in Pakistan

The UK on Friday announced an additional GBP 10 million humanitarian assistance for flood relief efforts in Pakistan, bringing the country's total contribution to GBP 26.5 million. According to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, the unprecedented floods that have submerged huge swathes of the country have so far killed nearly 1700 people and destroyed or damaged 2 million houses. As many as 546,000 people are living in relief camps. The disaster has also damaged 12,716 km of roads and 22,000 schools. In total, 745 health centres have been damaged or destroyed. The British High Commission here said in a statement that the UK will provide a further GBP 10 million of humanitarian aid to Pakistan for flood relief efforts, bringing Britain's total contribution to GBP 26.5 million. Of the total aid, GBP 21.5m has been allotted to the relief efforts in the areas worst hit by the flooding. The remaining GBP 5m will go directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ...

UK PM Liz Truss faces pressure from Conservatives over tax cuts policies

The Cabinet is attempting to rally behind embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday as her Conservative Party backbenchers are up in arms against her tax-cutting economic policies, which they see as favouring the rich amid a cost-of-living crisis and giving the Opposition Labour Party a lead in opinion polls. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned that it would be a disastrously bad idea to think about replacing Truss as the Tory leader, just over a month after she was elected by the party membership in a leadership battle with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak on September 6. Since then the government's mini-budget tabled at the end of last month has unleashed turmoil in the financial markets due to fears of unfunded tax cuts introduced by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, despite a forced U-turn on abolishing the top rate for the wealthiest in the country. We have got to recognise that we do need to bring certainty to the markets, Cleverly told the BBC with reference to the ...

UK wants stronger trading relationship with India, says FM Cleverly

UK FM James Cleverly said Britain wanted to have an even stronger trading relationship with India after reports that remarks by a fellow minister about immigrants could put future deal in doubt

UK needs to cut 200,000 govt jobs over next few years to avoid debt spiral

Public-sector wages are on track to increase 5% this year, around half the current rate of inflation but higher than budgeted when spending plans were drawn up in 2021.

UK PM Liz Truss fires trade minister Conor Burns over alleged misconduct

A British trade minister was fired by Prime Minister Liz Truss and suspended by the Conservative Party on Friday over allegations of misconduct. The government said Truss had asked Conor Burns to leave the government with immediate effect after a complaint of serious misconduct. The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour as the public rightly expects, the prime minister's office said. The Conservative whips' office said Burns had been suspended from the party's group in Parliament pending investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour earlier this week. He remains a lawmaker but will sit as an independent. British media reported that the alleged misconduct took place at the Conservatives' annual conference in the central England city of Birmingham. Burns is a long-time ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was forced to step down in July. Johnson

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman objects to increasing visas for Indians

Suella Braverman has again risked upsetting No. 10 after saying she has "reservations" about Britain's trade deal with India because it could increase immigration to the UK, The Guardian reported

ISRO to launch 36 OneWeb satellites onboard LVM3 later this month

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it will launch 36 satellites of UK's global communications network OneWeb onboard its heaviest launcher LVM3

Cutting taxes the right thing to do, both morally and economically: UK PM

''Will make difficult but necessary choices for economic growth''

U-turn in UK: Room for fiscal fireworks is limited

It is best to stick to tried and tested methods of reviving growth - deregulation, macroeconomic stability, and targeted investment

UK PM Liz Truss makes U-turn on tax after week of market turmoil

The U-turn comes after the govt's fiscal plans triggered a crisis of investor confidence, jolting markets to such an extent that the BoE had to intervene with a 65 billion pound bond-buying programme