Latest news with #publicspending
The Sun
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Keir Starmer's latest U-turn on benefits is the worst of all worlds and leaves PM at a major crossroads
Country first? KEIR Starmer's capitulation to his own party is the worst of all worlds. No meaningful reform of the out-of-control benefits system will happen and most of Labour's planned £5billion savings won't be made. 1 Whacking tax rises to fill the black hole now look inevitable. It has also sent a signal that the PM — despite his huge majority — can't deliver any serious public spending cuts. After this debacle, how will he reform the NHS or slash the civil service Blob? His rebels will now demand an end to the two-child benefit cap, too. As for taking on ludicrous wage demands from doctors and other public sector workers — forget it. The PM has now made major U-turns on winter fuel payments, grooming gangs and benefits. Presumably under pressure from his leftie comrades, Sir Keir yesterday also said he now deeply regrets his previous claim on mass immigration that it risked Britain becoming 'an island of strangers'. Except that it was probably one of the few occasions where most ordinary folk AGREED with him. After just 12 months, the PM is at a major crossroads. Elected on his promise to put country before party, he has this week done the complete opposite. Appeasing his virtue-signalling MPs may get him through difficult days in Westminster. But for the rest of us it spells very bad news indeed. Petty crime JUST last month chief constables begged for more cash. Without it, they warned, the country would be overwhelmed by criminals. Really? As we reveal today, they have plenty of time and money to investigate absurd 'hate crimes' — from singing Flower of Scotland at an English railway station, to questioning if a person's designer clothes are fake. Can we suggest senior cops and the Government stop hitting up the taxpayer, and instead save cash by scrapping inquiries into so-called non-crime hate incidents. It might even free them up to catch a shoplifter or two. Booze & cheers That would have dealt a savage blow to struggling horse-racing venues and lower league football clubs — and punished punters. Ditch the Nanny-state plan to outlaw booze adverts, too.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Keir Starmer's ageing visibly, overwhelmed by events and has no plan but to blow your money. It's pathetic to watch. He's finished: DANIEL HANNAN
Sir Keir Starmer seems smaller, greyer, older. Marginalised on the world stage, under siege from Labour MPs, unable to push through even the tiniest reforms to slow the growth in public spending, the PM comes across as… well, spent. In just over a week's time, he will mark his first anniversary in No 10. Can it be just 12 months ago that his election was hailed as a return to normality and seriousness?
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Germany to issue 19 bln eur more in debt in Q3 in line with spending boost
BERLIN, June 24 (Reuters) - Germany plans to issue 19 billion euros ($22 billion) more in debt than initially planned in the third quarter, the Federal Finance Agency said on Tuesday, in line with an anticipated boost in spending on defence and infrastructure. The additional 19 billion euros that will be financed in the third quarter consist of a 15-billion-euro increase in borrowing on the capital market and 4 billion euros to be raised on the money market, the agency said. The quarterly update from the finance agency, which manages Germany's debt, comes ahead of an expected surge in public spending, made possible by a recent reform to debt rules and the creation of a special fund for infrastructure investment. ($1 = 0.8624 euros)
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
German Business Outlook Hits Two-Year High on Economic Optimism
By Updated on Save German companies are the most upbeat about the economy in more than two years as an imminent boost to public spending outweighs concerns over US tariffs and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. An expectations index by the Ifo institute rose to 90.7 in June from a revised 89 in May. The reading is the highest since April 2023 and exceeds the 89.9 median estimate in a Bloomberg poll of analysts. A measure of current conditions also rose.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Ministers to be warned over spending amid economic uncertainty
Cabinet Ministers are to be warned of their responsibility to ensure value for money when they authorise the spending of public funds this year. In the midst of a period of global economic uncertainty, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers is to remind colleagues they will have to stay within the budgetary ceilings set for them in 2025. The Fianna Fáil Minister will tell Cabinet on Tuesday that a total expenditure ceiling of more than €100 billion was announced as part of Budget 2025 covering all Government departments. He will say all Ministers must be prudent with public money. The responsibility for staying within budget will be extended to agencies that come under the responsibilities of their departments. READ MORE The memo will be received as a warning shot to Ministers and their departments about breaching spending ceilings. While some sectors, especially health, have spent more than was allotted in their vote, it is understood there will be less tolerance for departmental overspending during 2025. The Government is also poised to give a green light for a multibillion dollar blueprint aimed at dramatically changing the face of Dublin city centre within a decade. [ The Irish Times view on Dublin City dereliction Opens in new window ] Taoiseach Micheál Martin will bring a memo to Cabinet seeking approval for a 10-year roadmap that will include an ambitious regeneration of the social housing stock, 1,000 extra gardaí on its streets, as well as a project to change the historic GPO building into a major hub on O'Connell Street. The roadmap, prepared by senior civil servants, is based on the work of the Dublin city Taskforce , the body established to examine potential rejuvenation mechanisms. There have been calls to revitalise the city centre over many years amid rising concerns over public safety, crime, antisocial behaviour, drug-taking, litter and no-go areas. Those concerns came to a head during the riots that occurred around the O'Connell Street area of the north inner city in November 2023. The Taoiseach will seek approval to set up a 'special purpose vehicle' under Dublin City Council to implement the plan . A project management office will also be established. The historic GPO complex will be revamped as an ambitious flagship project with cultural, retail and office elements, the memo will outline. The recommendations of the taskforce report in October 2024 included the rejuvenation of O'Connell Street and its surroundings, the regeneration of social housing complexes, putting high-density accommodation into derelict sites, and stationing 1,000 more gardaí in the area. Mr Martin will also brief Cabinet on a group asked to implement a report on conveyancing on probate. Its main recommendation was to reduce the processing time for probate to eight weeks and to fully implement e-conveyancing by 2027. The group was asked to come up with a practical way of implementing the recommendations and is expected to do so by December. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will seek approval for new legislation ensuring a minimum standard of patient safety in Irish hospitals. The Patient Safety (Licencing) Bill 2025 will require public and private hospitals to operate to minimum core standards. Minister for Higher and Further Education James Lawless will bring a progress report on policy aimed at delivering 750 public sector apprenticeships each year. Significant progress has been made, the document will say, with registrations rising from 67 in 2022 to a projected 554 in 2025. Mr Lawless will also bring a memo that changes the standards of State-supported student accommodation. The model will provide for the greater use of shared facilities such as twin rooms, communal kitchens and shared bathrooms replacing the current reliance on individual en-suite units.
