All posts tagged: Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer, if you want growth why haven’t you made this key deal? | Politics | News

Keir Starmer, if you want growth why haven’t you made this key deal? | Politics | News

Published by Sam

The times they are a changing, sang Bob Dylan in the 1960s. And once again the world is shifting. We have the innovation and economic implications of the AI, the fifth Industrial Revolution, possibilities of biotech and the promise of fusion energy. All these things have the potential for mischief and risk, as so often in the past however, human progress depends on creative disruption and it is those people and nations who embrace and own it who become rich. But there are of course the naysayers — the Inquisition of Cancel Culture and the Don Quixotes tilting at the windmills of old technologies and false icons, not least mad Ed Milliband. The Trumpian geopolitical tilt away from Europe and towards the economic growth powerhouse of the Pacific rim definitely marks a change which will have profound consequences as yet to be defined, but it is certain that the UK needs to be on the correct side of that pivot. Fortunately, Brexit Britain is free to make our own policies, both economic and foreign. We …

U.K. to Turbocharge AI, Gain up to Billion a Year as World Leader

U.K. to Turbocharge AI, Gain up to $57 Billion a Year as World Leader

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Artificial intelligence will “be unleashed across the U.K. to deliver a decade of national renewal.” At least, that is the vow made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he unveiled a plan that his Labour Party government says will “turbocharge AI” and “deliver a decade of national renewal” by “backing AI to the hilt.” Agreeing to take forward all 50 recommendations set out by Matt Clifford, chairman of talent investor Entrepreneur First, in his “AI Opportunities Action Plan,” which he was tasked to draw up last summer, Starmer and his team said on Monday that AI could help with “revolutionizing our public services and putting more money in people’s back pockets.” Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate, the government emphasized that “if AI is fully embraced and productivity gains are fully realized, this could be worth up to an average £47 billion ($57 billion) to the U.K. each year over a decade.” Concluded the government: “Today’s plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation – revolutionizing our public services and putting more …

Truss sends Starmer cease and desist letter over claim she ‘crashed the economy’

Truss sends Starmer cease and desist letter over claim she ‘crashed the economy’

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Liz Truss has sent a cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer, demanding that he stops claiming that she crashed the economy, it can be revealed. In the letter, a copy of which has been seen by The Telegraph, lawyers acting on behalf of the former prime minister argue that the statement is “false and defamatory”. The lawyers even suggest that the assertions from Sir Keir before the July general election contributed towards Ms Truss being ousted as the MP for South West Norfolk. At the core of the row are the weeks after Ms Truss’s “mini-Budget” in September 2022, when financial markets reacted negatively to major tax cuts funded by borrowing. The letter argues that the financial movements did not amount to an economic crash, since there was no fall in economic output or rise in unemployment – the usual signifiers of such an event. To back up their claim, Ms Truss’s lawyers cite a report from Andrew Lilico, a fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a Right-leaning think tank. His report …

Macron and Starmer to discuss Ukraine as Trump looms – POLITICO

Macron and Starmer to discuss Ukraine as Trump looms – POLITICO

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host French President Emmanuel Macron for talks Thursday as the two leaders await the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. No. 10 Downing Street announced Wednesday that the pair would meet at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, and discuss Ukraine — a hot-button topic in the incoming U.S. administration — as well as artificial intelligence, economic growth and legal migration. Both Macron and Starmer have been vocal supporters of Ukraine’s pushback against Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, and stressed the need for continued backing since the far more sceptical Trump’s November win. Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, an idea given short shrift in European capitals. Source link

Ex-Starmer aide Sue Gray gets House of Lords consolation prize – POLITICO

Ex-Starmer aide Sue Gray gets House of Lords consolation prize – POLITICO

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In her old life, she led the investigation into lockdown-busting parties in Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street at the height of the Covid pandemic. But Gray became a lightning rod for internal criticism in the wake of Labour’s victory, with colleagues blaming her for a myriad of issues including communications failures, the slow appointment of ministers and low pay for special advisers. She quit the job in October and was replaced by Morgan McSweeney, a close political aide of Starmer seen as helping propel him to power. A promised job of envoy to the nations and regions was not taken up. As a member of the House of Lords, Gray — who gained a reputation as a fear-inducing Whitehall ethics investigator before taking on the Labour job — will be entitled to claim a daily attendance allowance, shape legislation and grill ministers. Under the U.K.’s political system, prime ministers can appoint life peers to the House of Lords. Labour is in the process of thinning the thinning the ranks of peers eligible to …

Trump’s White House return is already pushing Europe and the UK closer together

Trump’s White House return is already pushing Europe and the UK closer together

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 British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves talks to the media at the EU Council headquarter on Dec. 9, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium.  Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images BRUSSELS, Belgium ꟷ President-elect Donald Trump has not yet re-entered the White House, but the U.K. and neighboring European Union are already working closer together to protect themselves against potential trade and defense confrontations with the incoming U.S. leader. U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves travelled to Brussels on Monday to convene with her EU counterparts in the first such encounter since Britain left the European Union in 2020. Her host, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, said he hoped this would be the first of “many” meetings. “There was a broadly shared sense that, in a world of turmoil, we continue to have shared interests and values,” one EU official, who did not want to be named due to the delicate nature of the conversations, told CNBC about the meeting with the U.K.’s chancellor. The same official added that these shared values concern Ukraine, China and …

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves bombarded with 30,000 emails demanding farm tax U-turn | Politics | News

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves bombarded with 30,000 emails demanding farm tax U-turn | Politics | News

Published by Sam

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been bombarded with emails demanding that they U-turn over Labour’s tax on family farms. The drive, set up by campaigner and former Reform UK candidate for Mayor of London, Howard Cox, urges people against the policy to email the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer to “get the Farmer Inheritance tax policy scrapped”. More than 30,000 have already, with the aim to get to 50,000 by the next protest by farmers in Whitehall tomorrow. Mr Cox told Express.co.uk: “Over 5,000 farmers are supporters of FairFuelUK backing my hugely successful campaign that has stopped fuel duty hikes for 15 years, and that they have benefitted from. “I was delighted that hundreds of them asked me to help fight Labour’s crass inheritance tax so I set up an easy way for the public to email the Chancellor and Prime Minister, calling on them both to scrap this needless and spiteful Budget policy. “Over 30,000 have done so and counting.” The change to inheritance tax for farms was announced by …

UK insists Parthenon sculptures not on the agenda as Greek PM visits – POLITICO

UK insists Parthenon sculptures not on the agenda as Greek PM visits – POLITICO

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Mitsotakis arrives in London Tuesday amid reports that members of his government have held, per Sky News, “private meetings” with top brass at the museum, which has been involved in long-running talks over a potential loan arrangement of the treasures. Any change in their status — which led to a furious row between the Greek and then- Conservative U.K. government last year — would need to involve the British government. The 1963 British Museum act currently prevents the removal of objects from its collection. During last year’s Greek dust-up with the Tories, Keir Starmer — now prime minister but at the time leader of the opposition — made a point of sitting down with Mitsotakis after Tory leader Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with him in a row over the marbles. But a British government spokesperson said Monday: “We have no plans to change existing government policy on restitution. Further decisions relating to the care and management of a museum’s collections, including loaning objects, are a matter for the Trustees of the museum.” Ahead of …