- Services sector volumes expected to drop (-20%).
- Consumer services expectations at their lowest ever (-49%).
- Distribution sales forecasted to plunge (-30%).
Alpesh Paleja of CBI said:
“After a grim lead-up to Christmas, the New Year hasn’t brought any sense of renewal, with businesses still expecting a significant fall in activity. Anecdotes suggest that companies are being hit by lacklustre demand and caution among consumers, while also continuing to adjust to measures announced in the Budget. Anecdotes suggest that companies are being hit by lacklustre demand and caution among consumers, while also continuing to adjust to measures announced in the Budget. There is an urgent need to get momentum back into the economy.”
Meanwhile, a separate report by EY-Parthenon reveals that one in five UK-listed companies has issued a profit warning in 2024— a crisis level only surpassed during Covid and the dot-com crash. Pressure is mounting on Reeves to reverse course…
Richard Hermer’s office refused to say last night whether the Attorney General has received payments from legal work conducted before the election after entering office. A common occurence for chambers which make use of Conditional Fee Arrangements…
In Parliament this month Hermer could not recall whether he had worked under those fee arrangements for previous clients – a list which includes Gerry Adams and human rights group Liberty in its defence of Shamima Begum. He has not declared any payments in the register of interests. Sources in his office “note” earnings for work conducted before entering don’t have to be registered because there is no “ongoing obligation” to the client, but Starmer took a different approach and has previously declared income received for past legal work. This is a difference in approach between the PM and his AG…
The Cabinet Office refused Robert Jenrick’s demand for an investigation into Hermer’s clients. The Shadow Justice Secretary has now written to the Lords Commissioner for Standards to ask for an investigation into the non-declarations. He adds that seeing as Hermer has “now served in government for six months, any omissions in his register of interests would represent a persistent breach of the Code spanning a significant period.” Jenrick has the bit between his teeth on this and is leading the Tory charge…
Read Jenrick’s full letter below:
Bad news for the progressive media once again—turns out Trump’s policies aren’t just popular across the pond, but they’re resonating with British voters too. A new Opinium poll reveals that a majority of Brits back the President’s hard-line stance on migration, with 58% agreeing that the UK should declare its own “border emergency.” No surprise there given the ever-growing waves of Channel boat crossings…
Meanwhile 53% of Brits support Trump’s vision of a “merit-based, colour-blind society” and that there are only two genders, 55% want to fill our gas reserves up again and export it across the world, and 56% are on board with slapping tariffs on foreign imports to protect British jobs. Red Ed and the liberal elite won’t be getting much sleep over those numbers…
Over the weekend, Trump proved that decisive action gets results. After he slapped a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods in response to President Gustavo Petro blocking two US deportation flights, it took just hours for Petro to fold, agreeing to accept deported migrants without restrictions. Starmer finally got his much-anticipated call with Trump, after the President praised him for doing a “very good job”. The irony wasn’t lost on pundits, given Starmer once claimed a Trump endorsement was more of a curse than a blessing. Perhaps Starmer can turn to his newfound friend for inspiration on how to turn around his dire polling numbers…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
