Tag: 2022

PRESS RELEASE : UK marks World Maritime Day with £60 million boost for clean shipping [September 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 29 September 2022.
- government launches £60 million clean maritime competition on World Maritime Day
- zero-emission vessels, fuels and clean port infrastructure set to benefit from funding and boost economic growth
- announcement made during Transport Secretary keynote address to Atlantic Future Forum in New York
Tankers, cruise ships, ports and the wider maritime sector could play their part in slashing emissions and boosting economic growth thanks to £60 million of funding for the UK maritime industry.

To mark this year’s World Maritime Day (29 September 2022), Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is announcing funding for the third round of the clean maritime demonstration competition (CMDC), which will run from April 2023 to March 2025 and help innovative companies and scientists make emission-free maritime a reality.

The Transport Secretary will make the announcement during a keynote address to the Atlantic Future Forum in New York, on the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The address will focus on how maritime security improves global prosperity and protects all of our interests, as well as how more environmentally-friendly shipping can lead to a sustainable future for maritime trade.

From today, UK companies will be able to bid for a slice of the funding to supercharge the development of early-stage clean maritime technologies for wider use in the future.

This is all part of government plans to back innovative businesses and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

The UK has always been a proud seafaring nation and helping the maritime sector to be more environmentally-friendly will mean it continues to play a key role in the UK’s economy for generations to come.

This World Maritime Day we’re announcing funding to harness the best innovations the UK has to offer – proving that tackling climate change can go hand-in-hand with business innovation, job creation and supercharging economic growth.

In 2020 UK domestic maritime vessels contributed around 5% of the UK’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions – more than trains and buses combined.

The CMDC is one of the ways the government is supporting the sector to decarbonise.

Also announced today are the winning projects from the second round of the CMDC, launched in May 2022, which saw £12 million shared between 121 UK companies.

Among the winners are 3 projects exploring the development of green shipping corridors – zero emission shipping routes between 2 ports. These routes build on the Clydebank declaration backed by 24 states at COP26.

The Clean Tyne Shipping Corridor consortium, the Aberdeen Harbour Board and ACUA Ocean hydrogen-powered North Sea crossing study, and the (GCSS) study between the Port of Dover and the Ports of Calais and Dunkirk, aim to support the transition to green crossings to and from the UK. This could one day create international agreements that would see only zero emission vessels – including ferries, leisure crafts and workboats – between the UK and other ports.

Using aerospace technologies, new ships are being developed that ‘fly’ above the surface of the water, reducing operational emissions by 100% and fuel costs by up to 90% by reducing drag. Built in Belfast by Artemis Technologies in collaboration with Tidal Transit, ORE Catapult and Lloyd’s Register is a project receiving over £1 million to develop a green, 24-metre workboat to transfer workers to and from offshore wind farms.

David Tyler, Commercial Director at Artemis Technology said:

Following years of underinvestment in research and innovation by the maritime industry, the sector is under real pressure to develop and adopt disruptive technologies if it has any chance of achieving the UK’s ambitious net zero targets.

The clean maritime demonstration competition is welcomed by the sector and will play a critical role in helping accelerate the UK’s transition to a more sustainable maritime future.

Today’s announcement follows the allocation of £206 million to support zero emission sailing and skilled maritime jobs as part of UK SHORE, announced in March this year.

The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) is housed in the Department for Transport and is dedicated to creating a world free from shipping emissions.

UK SHORE is implementing a comprehensive research and development programme, including the CMDC, working in partnership with industry to help build greener vessels – from cruises to tankers and leisure boats.

Innovate UK Executive Director for Net Zero, Mike Biddle, said:

The maritime sector is of crucial importance to the UK, with more than 95% of our trade running through the major ports that connect us to the global economy.

As such an important part of the UK economy, significant change is needed to ensure that the sector adapts to new, clean technologies, reducing maritime emissions.

This latest, multi-year round of the government’s clean maritime demonstration competition builds on the success of the first 2 rounds, stimulating innovation to ensure the UK is at the forefront of this transition to make maritime greener.

Ashley Feldman, Programme Manager for Transport and Smart Cities, techUK said:

Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in the UK’s journey to net zero. The maritime sector is especially complex to decarbonise and the CMDC is funding cutting-edge innovation for solving these challenges.

This next round of investment will accelerate progress, ensuring the UK emerges as a global power for these technologies.

Ben Murray, CEO of Maritime UK, said:

The maritime sector is one of Britain’s biggest industries and can play a major role in helping to grow our economy as we accelerate efforts to decarbonise the sector, delivering well-paid, high-quality jobs across the UK. > This funding will help all parts of the sector to develop the solutions needed for maritime decarbonisation.

Industry is rising to the challenge and co-investing with government to accelerate progress on clean maritime propulsion and infrastructure.

If we move quickly, the UK has a generational opportunity to lead globally, exporting cutting-edge solutions to maritime businesses across the world.
September 29, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : £1.5 billion to improve energy efficiency and slash bills [September 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 29 September 2022.
- Government funding of up to £1.5 billion will see around 130,000 social housing and low-income properties in England upgraded
- upgrades will help households save around £400 to £700 a year on their energy bills at current prices and funding could support around 19,000 green energy sector jobs
- funding follows government’s direct and decisive intervention ahead of 1 October to reduce energy bills for households and businesses
Around 130,000 low-income households across England could see bills slashed by around £400 to £700 a year as their homes receive energy efficiency upgrades through the government’s latest Help to Heat funding.

Up to £1.5 billion is being made available through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant schemes, allowing social housing providers and local authorities to submit bids for funding to upgrade the properties of around 130,000 low-income and social households.

Today’s funding will see the installation of measures such as external wall and loft insulation, energy efficient doors and windows, heat pumps and solar panels, with multiple measures often being installed in a single home to considerably improve the energy performance.

Local authorities and social housing providers will be able to submit bids for funding and will deliver upgrades from early next year until March 2025, building on more than 30,000 homes already being upgraded under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant schemes.

Today’s announcement comes ahead of unprecedented government support which kicks in this weekend, helping to protect households, businesses and public sector organisations from rising energy costs following Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Thanks to the government’s Energy Price Guarantee, for the next two years, the typical annual household bill will be £2,500, a saving of at least £1,000 a year based on current prices and energy usage. This is on top of existing government plans to give all households £400 off bills this winter. This direct and decisive action means households will receive significant protection from an 80% rise in the Energy Price Cap and won’t see average household bills increase to over £3,500 annually, with some reports predicting bills could have risen as high as £6,500 next year.

There was also no price cap in place for businesses, meaning British companies were also experiencing significant increases in energy costs – in some cases of more than 500% – but thanks to government intervention through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, businesses, public and third sector organisations will pay wholesale energy costs well below half of expected prices for this winter.

Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, would have had dire consequences on the energy bills of both households and businesses this winter, without the government’s decisive action. Today I am cutting costs even further for the most vulnerable households for years to come.

By making homes warmer and cheaper to live in, we are not only transforming the lives of households across England, we are creating huge growth in the economy, backing the green energy sector and supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs.

As part of the government’s Growth Plan, which was announced by the Chancellor this week, the schemes could together support 19,000 green energy sector jobs.

Social housing with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower will be eligible to receive Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) upgrades, while the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) funding will help people who are most vulnerable to fuel poverty, living in privately-owned – both rented and owner-occupied – off gas-grid homes and on low incomes.

The cash boost forms part of £12 billion combined funding under the government’s ‘Help to Heat’ schemes, which also include the Local Authority Delivery and Energy Company Obligation schemes, targeting support to lower income and more vulnerable households.

The HUG funding will see up to £700 million available for local authorities to install energy efficiency measures in around 30,000 properties. Estimates for average annual energy bill savings for low-income households in HUG are around £700 at current prices.

Up to £800 million SHDF wave 2 grant funding will see around 100,000 social homes receiving energy efficiency upgrades, with estimated average energy bill reductions of around £400 a year at current prices. The grant funding provided by the government will have to be matched by those applying, doubling the investment being made under the SHDF scheme to around £1.6 billion.

The wave 2 funding builds on the £179 million funding announced through SHDF wave 1 in February 2022, which is upgrading up to 20,000 social housing properties.

Minister for Business and Energy Lord Callanan said:

The cheapest form of energy is the energy we do not use. Our Help to Heat schemes are already bringing real benefits to tens of thousands of low-income households across the country by improving the energy performance of their homes and saving them hundreds of pounds on their bills.

Together with the unprecedented support government is putting in place to help households and businesses with rising energy costs, this latest funding will extend that assistance even further, targeting help to those who need it most by making their homes warmer and cheaper to run.

It is set to deliver further on the huge progress that has already been made to increase the energy efficiency of UK homes.

In 2010, just 14% had an Energy Performance of C or above, however it is now at 46% and rising, with the social housing sector up from 18% in 2008 to around 66%. Energy efficiency improvements are one of the most effective ways to save money on energy bills at a time of rising global gas prices.

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said:

The launch of the second wave of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is hugely welcome. This vital funding will enable housing associations across the country to make significant progress in retrofitting and decarbonising their homes – work that not only cuts carbon emissions but saves residents money on their heating bills.

We know that England’s homes produce more carbon each year than the average annual use of the country’s cars, so decarbonising social homes has a pivotal role to play to meeting the country’s net zero target.

The National Housing Federation and our members look forward to continuing to work with BEIS to demonstrate the benefits that decarbonising homes has on residents’ lives.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive, Northern Housing Consortium said:

We welcome the opening of this important funding, which gives the North the opportunity to scale-up social housing retrofit programmes, creating good, skilled, green jobs and helping to tackle fuel poverty in our communities.

The North is ambitious for this Wave – some significant collaborations are under way and councils and housing associations are looking forward to working with BEIS to build on the momentum we’ve already established together.

This latest funding is in addition to government action to protect UK households from the costs of energy that are being pushed up by pressures on global markets following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Energy Price Guarantee will limit the amount consumers can be charged for each unit of gas and electricity you use in their home and will apply from 1 October, fixing the unit cost at the equivalent of a £2500 annual bill for a typical household with average gas and electricity use.

This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. It comes in addition to the announced £400 energy bills discount for all households and together they will bring costs close to where the energy price cap stands today.

Taken together, the government is cutting energy bills by an expected £1,400 this year, and millions of the most vulnerable households will receive additional payments, taking their total savings this year to £2,200.

Meanwhile, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will reduce wholesale gas and electricity prices for all UK businesses, charities and public sector bodies, such as schools and hospitals, meaning they will pay wholesale energy costs below half of expected prices for this winter. The next wave of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will also soon open for new applications, with up to £635 million in funding to further support bill savings in the public sector.
September 29, 2022
Kemi Badenoch – 2022 Speech at the Atlantic Future Forum in New York

The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, in New York on 28 September 2022.

Thank you and good afternoon everyone.

How wonderful it to be at the Atlantic Future Forum.

This a superb event organised by the Royal Navy and our teams from the Department for International Trade, the Ministry of Defence and of course the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

It is particularly poignant being on HMS Queen Elizabeth given the events of the last few weeks.

To say it’s been emotional would be an understatement. For everyone in the UK, young or old Her Late Majesty had been ever presence of force in British Life. Many of us here were more than her subjects we were Her Majesty’s Ambassadors, Her Majesty’s Civil Service, Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, Her Royal Navy, Her Government.

Our late sovereign was also, of course, a stateswoman, who devoted herself to deepening the special relationship.

So it is a particular privilege to stand on this vessel which she named at Rosyth Dockyard 8 years ago, as we begin the Carolean age in the service of His Majesty.

And talk about an important aspect of the US and UK’s shared future and by that I mean…our economic partnership.

I lived briefly in the US, and learned very quickly that Americans and New Yorkers especially, like to cut to the chase.

So, I’m going to get straight to the point:

Right now, there’s a global growth slow-down underway.

And if you’ll forgive the pun, we need all hands on-deck to get the world economy’s wheels spinning again.

And that’s why in the UK we’re going for growth in a big way. And in fact some of you may have heard some major reforms we announced on Friday, to achieve this:

But before I go into what we are doing, it would be odd not to address the elephant in the room.. and the financial instability in markets over the last few days.

You would by now have heard the Bank of England taking short-term measures to provide stability – as is their job.

My colleagues, including the Chancellor, continue to work very closely with our institutions to support them in their aims while maintaining their independence. And we must look at all of this in the context of the fundamentals, which are that the UK economy is strong and we have a plan – a Growth Plan to cut taxes, promote enterprise and cut red tape for business.

So what are some of the things we’re doing?

We’re keeping corporation tax at the lowest in the G20 at 19% not cutting keeping.

We’re creating low tax investment zones around the country, to make it quicker and easier to build and get things done because the regulatory environment has not kept pace with our economic needs.

We’re accelerating critical infrastructure projects in sectors like transport, energy, and telecoms…to ensure we invest in our future and deliver for the next generation.

We’re also going to be spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Something I know looking at all of the uniforms in the room is especially relevant to all of you here today.

We’re rolling out significant financial services reforms that will make the UK an even better place to do business and much more.

There is radical change happening on our side of the Atlantic. It’s the kind of radical change that we’ve not seen for 40 years.

We know it is bold.

We know it comes with risk.

But in these volatile times, every option, even the status quo is risky.

And the Prime Minister, my predecessor but one in my role as Trade Secretary gets trade and knows that our global economic relationships have got to be at the heart of this work.

Right now, US-UK trade is booming. Sadly, not enough people know this or hear the message enough. So I want to make sure they do and I’ll continue to bang the drum.

But it’s the investment story that’s even more interesting.

Increasing numbers of American firms are realising that backing the UK is a great move.

I could make your eyes glaze over by trotting out an endless list of statistics! Don’t worry I’m not going to do that today

….. but the numbers speak for themselves:

US businesses already invested £479 billion pounds into in our economy –To put that figure into context it’s more than Sweden’s annual GDP.

Every day just under 1.5 million Britons go to work for an American firm.

And in the year to March alone, American investment created 27,000 British jobs.

I know to some extent I’m preaching to the choir here.

Because I don’t have to look far around this room to spot businesses that are boosting their UK operations.

In fact, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, are just some of the American firms here today that have said they will do precisely that. And we look forward to working with them.

Undoubtedly, factors like good infrastructure, our legal system and a lack of red-tape, are part of the UK’s attraction.

But there’s another reason too. We are fast becoming the world’s innovation destination.

Just like Manhattan, we’re an island full of dynamism and ingenuity.

We’re the nation with big ideas.

We’re Europe’s unicorn factory.

And the first quarter of this year our tech start-ups attracted more global investment than anywhere bar the US…..and partnerships between UK and American firms are pushing forward progress…..

For instance, there’ s a really interesting story taking place right now involving a firm in Cambridge called PhoreMost and a business named Polaris Quantum Biotech from North Carolina.

Together, they want to cut the time it takes to create cancer therapies. That’s not only a great business partnership, it’s literally a life-saving collaboration.

But I want to do even more to make sure American ambitions collide with British ideas or vice versa.

So here’s my elevator pitch. The UK is pro-ambition, pro entrepreneur, pro-growth and home to top-flight talent fizzing with extraordinary ideas.

And we are more determined than ever before to turn the country into the place to come if you want your business to succeed.

Of course, we mustn’t pretend everything is perfect or easy. We know that, sometimes trading our way to growth can be more difficult than it needs to be.

But it’s because the US and UK are close that we can fix problems wherever we find them.

Look at the way we recently solved the Section 232 tariff dispute on UK steel and aluminium exports and reached an understanding on the Airbus-Boeing dispute.

Very soon, Americans will be able to pick up a leg of Welsh lamb at their local store for the first time in decades, after a long-standing rule was removed.

That’s obviously big news for British farmers. And it’s arguably even better news for Americans who get to tuck in on some of the finest grass-fed lamb in the world…

And, of course, we’re delighted that bourbon is fully back on the drinks menu, in Britain, following the Section 232 resolution.

I know that behind the scenes we’re working hard to resolve issues and make it quicker, easier and cheaper for our firms to do business.

The UK also sees the huge potential to develop our relationships with individual states as another huge opportunity.

In May, under the stewardship of my predecessor, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is also here today, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding on trade and economic cooperation with Indiana – a state that already buys $1.4 billion worth of UK goods every year.

North Carolina followed in July.

And I know the DIT team is working hard on continuing Anne Marie’s legacy with me and securing more this year…so watch this space.

Given we’re anchored not far from the Statue of Liberty, I want to end by saying a few words about trade as a force for progress and a force for good.

Free markets and fair trade are very personal to me.

Too many people trot them out as cliches and platitudes, but a world without these freedoms is not just poorer it’s also more dangerous.

I grew up in Nigeria. And I saw first-hand what happens when a nation can’t trade or worse embraces protectionism.

Not long ago, the government there banned rice and tomato not tomayto tomato imports to support local industry. The result was not a boom in production, but supply shortages, price rises and people smuggling in tomatoes like they were diamonds.

I will never forget the sight of my mother a university professor stuffing her suitcase with Tesco Value Rice when she visited me in London because it was cheaper there than back home for her.

One of the many reasons I’m so frustrated by the trope that Brexit was the UK retreating from the world, is because it is completely untrue. I voted to leave the European Union and I saw Brexit as a once in a generation opportunity for the UK to embrace the world and trade was and still is at the heart of that.

So I want to make sure that we use our freedoms to build better and fairer trading relationships with emerging economies.

When trade is open and free and everyone plays by the rules, we will win and developing countries gain an alternative to authoritarian regimes.

But at a time when weaker economies are being exploited by those who don’t share our values, it’s not enough to talk about why free and fairtrade matters, we need to show why too.

Last month, my department launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme. It’s one of the most generous initiatives of its type in the world and it’s going to give a boost to businesses in 65 countries by cutting red tape and lowering tariffs.

It’s early days but I’m already hearing how the scheme is giving entrepreneurs in countries like Bangladesh the opportunities they need to grow their businesses. And closer to home, I’m very much focused on exploring how trade can support the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Of course, the UK-US trading relationship couldn’t be a better illustration of capitalism’s power to influence, unite and act as a counter to protectionism and authoritarian regimes.

And We’re already using trade to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the world.

At last year’s G7 we renewed our Atlantic Charter; originally signed by Churchill and Roosevelt pledging UK and US economic and security collaboration.

Through our Future of Atlantic Trade dialogues, we’re working on critical issues, such as developing and diversifying our supply chains in response to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.

We’re deepening our ties in the Indo-Pacific through our AUKUS pact.

Our response to the Indo Pacific region’s rapid growth and China’s growing assertiveness, is another shared challenge.

And I know we’re both committed to opposing economic coercion, and the unfair trade practices that choke competition and penalise countries that follow the rules.

President Ronald Reagan once said: ‘Free trade serves the cause of economic progress and it serves the cause of world peace.’

And the UK-US economic partnership is the clearest possible example of why free trade and free markets are not just integral to our growth but to the freedoms we share.

Next month, we’ll mark the 75th anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – the forerunner of today’s multilateral system.

Our nations helped to forge that deal after WW2, following long negotiations.

At GATT’s heart was an acknowledgement that free and fair trade would be key to our future.

Again today, we face unprecedented challenges.

Again, at times, we may have differences…

But just like the American and British teams who gathered round the negotiating table three quarters of a century ago.

I know we are committed to deepening our transatlantic economic partnership.

Building our businesses’ bonds of commerce.

And demonstrating, unequivocally, how through free trade we can together create a better world. Thank you.

September 29, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Delargy writes to Justice Minister over Bloody Sunday hearing delay [September 2022]

The press release issued by Sinn Fein on 28 September 2022.

Sinn Féin MLA Pádraig Delargy has written to the Justice Minister seeking an urgent explanation after an administration error delayed a Bloody Sunday prosecution hearing due to start on Tuesday.

The Foyle MLA said:

“I was extremely shocked and saddened to learn of the apparent mix up for the Bloody Sunday families attending the prosecution hearing of Soldier F yesterday.

“The Bloody Sunday families have campaigned tirelessly for truth and justice for over 50 years. They refused to give up.

“To think that an apparent administration error could delay this court hearing is appalling and an affront to the families.

“To be set up for an experience which many find retraumatising, only to have the rug pulled out from under them on the day, only adds insult to injury.

“The proper provision which any family would expect was totally absent. Given the sensitive nature of the case I would expect and demand much better of our court services.

“I have asked the Department of Justice to look into this immediately and to come back to the families with a full explanation and apology.”

September 28, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Time to end digital partition of Ireland [September 2022]

The press release issued by Sinn Fein on 28 September 2022.

Sinn Féin MLA Sinéad Ennis and Seanodóir Niall Ó Donnghaile have called for an end to the block on people in the north watching sporting events and lifting the ban on northern viewers entering RTÉ competitions.

Speaking after meeting in Leinster House, Sinéad Ennis MLA said:

“It’s unacceptable that many people in the north are still being blocked from viewing sporting events on television – the Ireland soccer team’s Nations League matches are the most recent example of this.

“More must be done to ensure fair and equal viewing access right across these islands.”

Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile added; “Sinn Féin have consistently raised this issue along with RTÉ’s continued ban on people in the north entering their competitions.

“We will continue to highlight these problems and will again raise them with RTÉ and other organisations as we move forward.

“Digital partition must be ended and audiences across all of Ireland respected and treated equally.”

September 28, 2022
Caoimhe Archibald – 2022 Comments on State of the Economy

The comments made by Caoimhe Archibald, Sinn Fein’s economic spokesperson, on 28 September 2022.

The Tory government’s outrageous and scandalous Budget has prioritised the super-rich at the expense of ordinary workers, families and businesses.

Now the Bank of England has issued a stark warning of more interest hikes that will make mortgages unaffordable and leave people struggling to keep a roof over their head.

Ordinary people and businesses are struggling to pay their bills and keep the shutters up, while the British government is driving more misery.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), who previously called for austerity, are now exposing the scale of the mess the Tories are creating with this Budget and calling on them to reverse this bad decision making.

I am reiterating the call on the Tories to abandon their ideologically driven financial catastrophe stop lining the pockets of the rich and support working people who are struggling.

What we need now is a tax break for small businesses, more funding for public services, support for workers and a Windfall Tax to cut energy companies’ eye-watering profits. Workers and families need money in their pockets now.

September 28, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Bank of England announces gilt market operation [September 2022]

The press release issued by the Bank of England on 28 September 2022.

As the Governor said in his statement on Monday, the Bank is monitoring developments in financial markets very closely in light of the significant repricing of UK and global financial assets.

This repricing has become more significant in the past day – and it is particularly affecting long-dated UK government debt. Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability. This would lead to an unwarranted tightening of financing conditions and a reduction of the flow of credit to the real economy.

In line with its financial stability objective, the Bank of England stands ready to restore market functioning and reduce any risks from contagion to credit conditions for UK households and businesses.

To achieve this, the Bank will carry out temporary purchases of long-dated UK government bonds from 28 September. The purpose of these purchases will be to restore orderly market conditions. The purchases will be carried out on whatever scale is necessary to effect this outcome. The operation will be fully indemnified by HM Treasury.

On 28 September, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee noted the risks to UK financial stability from dysfunction in the gilt market. It recommended that action be taken, and welcomed the Bank’s plans for temporary and targeted purchases in the gilt market on financial stability grounds at an urgent pace.

These purchases will be strictly time limited. They are intended to tackle a specific problem in the long-dated government bond market. Auctions will take place from today until 14 October. The purchases will be unwound in a smooth and orderly fashion once risks to market functioning are judged to have subsided.

The Monetary Policy Committee has been informed of these temporary and targeted financial stability operations. This is in line with the Concordat governing the MPC’s engagement with the Bank’s Executive regarding balance sheet operations. As set out in the Governor’s statement on Monday, the MPC will make a full assessment of recent macroeconomic developments at its next scheduled meeting and act accordingly. The MPC will not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its remit.

The MPC’s annual target of an £80bn stock reduction is unaffected and unchanged. In light of current market conditions, the Bank’s Executive has postponed the beginning of gilt sale operations that were due to commence next week. The first gilt sale operations will take place on 31 October and proceed thereafter.

The Bank will shortly publish a market notice outlining operational details.

September 28, 2022
Keir Starmer – 2022 Comments on Recalling Parliament

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on Twitter on 28 September 2022.

Across the country, people are worried about their energy bills, their mortgages, their pensions.

This is entirely self inflicted by the government.

Abandon this act of economic self-harm and recall parliament now.

September 28, 2022
Angela Rayner – 2022 Closing Speech at Labour Party Conference

The closing speech made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 28 September 2022.

Thank you, Conference, and thank you Svetlana.

The sacrifice you have made for your country sets an example to us all.

A woman, a mother who has led a movement, not for personal ambition but to free her country and her people.

The Labour Party stands with you, and a Labour government will too.

Conference, it’s a great honour to make the closing speech before our traditional anthems.

To close the week just as John Prescott did back in the day.

Although I look better in a dress.

I hope to do him proud.

I love the traditions of our movement.

From Durham Miners’ Gala to the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival.

But there is one part of our history that I will never celebrate – losing elections.

Think how it will feel meeting here in this hall in a few years’ time after a term of a Labour government.

Back in power.

Now, this is the Labour Party.

I’ve no doubt we’ll also be discussing how much further we’d like to go.

Once we’ve debated the CAC report for twenty minutes, of course.

But when the Tories deliver 1% of what they promised, they talk endlessly about that 1% and we never hear about the list of broken promises.

When we deliver 99% of what we promised, we talk endlessly about the 1% we didn’t instead.

Just think about the historic Labour Governments and their legacy.

They didn’t please all of our movement all of the time, including me.

But those Labour Governments made history.

The NHS.

Social security.

The welfare state.

Council housing.

Modern higher education.

The Open University.

Decriminalising homosexuality.

Outlawing racial discrimination.

Introducing equal pay.

The National Minimum Wage.

Sure Start.

The Good Friday Agreement.

Civil Partnerships.

The Equality Act.

The Human Rights Act.

The world’s first Climate Change Act.

Conference, if we’re not proud of ourselves, don’t expect anyone else to do it for us.

And just think what that future Party Conference could have to celebrate.

We’ve shown this week how different we’ll be.

Not just in our vision but with our plan for Britain.

Starting with the biggest challenge facing not just our country but the world.

We will tackle the climate crisis head on.

We will protect our people and our planet.

And we will pull out all the stops to build a fairer and greener Britain.

As Keir set out yesterday through our Green Prosperity Plan.

We will unleash a green industrial revolution.

By reaching 100 per cent clean power by 2030, we will save £93 billion off energy bills.

And through Great British Energy we will give British power right back to British people.

I said on Sunday that a moment of choice is upon us.

A moment to show the country that we are ready to govern.

Well, Conference, I know I’m a bit biased, but, boy, do I think that we’ve shown that.

It isn’t just that we have better policies, although we do.

It isn’t just that we will be a more competent government, although we will.

No, it is that our values differ fundamentally.

And our policies are not better despite our values but because of them.

Labour values.

The country’s values too.

Yet too often when it comes to elections, people feel they have a choice of heart versus head.

Values or competence.

I say to those watching at home – this week we have shown it’s a choice you will never have to make again.

And this past week, the Tories have shown it too.

The Conservative Party are no longer pretending to be competent and stable.

Today’s Tories will plunge us into chaos in pursuit of their dogma.

Divide the country to rule it and regards rules as for you, and not for them.

Tough on crime?

They brought crime to Number 10

Defenders of the free market?

The market’s in free fall.

England’s green and pleasant land?

Frack it.

From the party of stability to causing earthquakes.

From the party of business, to a slap down from the IMF.

From the party of serious government to the party of parties.

Liz Truss has even crashed the pork market.

Now…that. Is. A. Disgrace.

You’d think that snouts in the trough was the one thing they could manage.

When interest rates were low and borrowing was cheap, they sacrificed public services for austerity.

Now they’re borrowing just as interest rates are soaring.

To think this was the party that claimed they were for sound money.

That’s WHAT one high-flying new Tory MP certainly thought in 2012.

He wrote a pamphlet demanding a balanced budget every year.

He said “Fiscal prudence is the very least we should expect from a Chancellor.”

And if they failed, they should face a 20% pay cut.

That Tory MP must be absolutely furious with the new Tory Chancellor, except he is the new Tory Chancellor.

I’ve got a funny feeling he won’t be taking that pay cut either.

Pay cuts are for other people.

He won’t even let the budget watchdog tell him just how much of our money he’s handing over to the super rich.

They used to say the Tories knew the value of nothing but the cost of everything.

Now they don’t even know that.

The next election won’t be a choice between a strong economy or a fair society.

We don’t have to choose one or the other.

Because you can’t have one without the other.

An unequal economy is an inefficient one.

It’s perhaps the starkest difference between us and the Tories.

Never again can we let them pretend they are the patriotic party.

I love my country.

That’s why I want so much better for it.

But the Tories now think our biggest economic problem, is you.

The working people of Britain.

And while they think you are our country’s greatest weakness, we know that you are our greatest strength.

It’s why Rachel and I will make the minimum wage, a real living wage.

Because we are not just the party of higher growth but of higher wages.

We know what the Tories think.

The new Prime Minister and her Chancellor have said it out loud.

The problem is that British workers are idlers not grafters.

The irony.

From this lot!!

Liz Truss said she doesn’t like hand-outs.

Then handed £150 billion to the energy giants.

They believe in hand-outs alright.

It’s the same with her other top priority – unlimited bankers’ bonuses.

It’s the same old ideology.

You incentivise the richest by giving them more money.

You incentivise the rest of us by taking it away.

Conference, it hasn’t worked before and it won’t wash now.

I know they’d rather forget it, but we’re now twelve years into Tory government.

Even if we are on our fourth Prime Minister.

Where are they now?

David Cameron.

The privatised Prime Minister, sold to Green-sill.

What was his greatest achievement?

Fooling the Lib Dems?

Not exactly a high bar.

If you just care about power for powers’ sake and have no principles, no policies and no plan, you end up with a pointless premiership.

Remembered only as a pub quiz answer.

Then we had Theresa May.

I remember her telling us that if you were a citizen of the world, you were a citizen of nowhere.

If only we’d known about their green cards and tax loopholes.

Their politicians are becoming like their donors – residents of everywhere, taxpayers of nowhere.

Then there’s Boris Johnson.

I do owe him one apology.

I said he couldn’t organise a booze up in a brewery.

Turns out he could organise a booze up pretty much anywhere.

Just a shame he couldn’t organise anything else.

We’re a party with a serious plan.

He had a plan for a serious party.

I’ll miss one thing though.

As inflation ran out of control, at least his jokes were one thing that got cheaper every week.

But the real problem wasn’t that his jokes were so cheap.

It was that his mistakes were so expensive.

He ended his time claiming he was forced from office by the ‘deep state’.

The only deep state that forced him from office was the one he left our country in.

Sorry Conference, I had to use all my Boris lines now, while we still remember who he is.

Before he becomes a footnote of failure in the history books.

Or at least that’s what the new Prime Minister must be hoping for.

Because I think he’ll be sat on the backbenches plotting his come back, with a glint in his eye, thinking I wasn’t so bad after all…was I!

And what a sorry state of affairs that is.

What does Liz Truss have to say after a decade in government?

Apparently they were wrong all along.

She’s now asking for seven years to fix it.

Yet offering us even more of the ideology that caused the problems in the first place.

She doesn’t just think that we’re lazy.

She must think we’re stupid as well.

And that brings me to this new government.

Openly chosen for loyalty not ability.

A ministry of all the talent-LESS.

Frankly when I looked at the benches opposite last week, I thought the clowns had escaped the circus.

Not so much a flying circus as a lying circus.

My new opposite number.

Her first act was to get to grips with the real crisis in our NHS.

The spread of a new and dangerous contagion.

Not the Omicron variant.

The Oxford comma.

That’s a comma before the word ‘and’, in case you were wondering.

Something like this sentence.

GPs are overwhelmed, ambulances not turning up, beds are full, waiting times are rocketing, the NHS is starved of investment and, it’s all the fault of Tory decisions.

It will take a Labour government to put that right.

So, here’s another sentence that Therese Coffey won’t like.

A Labour government will double the number of district nurses, train 5,000 new health visitors, create 10,000 nursing placements, double the number of medical students, and we will pay for it by reversing your handout to the wealthiest few.

I like every dot and comma of that policy, Conference.

And what a contrast to the government you’ve seen this week, Conference.

Yesterday the country saw the Keir that I know and see every day.

Announcing 100 per cent clean power by 2030, driven by a British energy company owned by the British people for the British people.

He showed the real leadership this country needs.

And on Monday Rachel showed how Labour would govern with competence, class and care.

With her as the UK’s first-ever female Chancellor, setting out our National Wealth Fund to give the British public a share of the wealth they create.

And a genuine living wage that matches the cost of living.

And I thank my own front bench team – Fleur, Rachel, Justin, Imran and Flo – for all that they do.

We have set out our five-point National Procurement Plan to tackle waste, sleaze, and lies.

And unleash the power of public spending.

Our Fair Work Standard to raise working conditions across the economy.

Alongside our New Deal for Working People.

And we haven’t stopped there.

Our whole Shadow Cabinet has shown we are a team with a plan.

70% home ownership, our renters’ charter and a clamp down on buy-to-let.

Council housing, council housing, council housing.

The Hillsborough Law, a domestic abuse register and a new football regulator.

Sewage sanctions, Job Centre reform and a transformational industrial strategy.

Insulation, innovation, inspiration,

All in one.

13,000 more police officers to keep our communities safe.

New Navy ships built by unionised workers in British shipyards.

Closing the tax break for private schools, to fund education for all.

Free school breakfasts for children.

New bus services in public hands.

And as contracts expire, restoring public ownership of the railways.

Conference, our Shadow Cabinet has shown what a Labour Government will be radical, responsible, realistic.

But delivering this message would be impossible without all of you.

Our brilliant activists who campaign through rain and wind.

And that’s just outside this building.

If you ever needed proof that on shore wind can deliver!

I have too many people to thank but I want to mention our brilliant chair, Alice Perry standing down from the NEC.

And Diana Holland who is stepping down as Party Treasurer after 12 years.

We all have a debt of gratitude to you.

Finally, thank you Liverpool for hosting our Conference.

While the Tories dare not show their face here – you’ve shown us the warmth and pride that defines this city.

Conference, this week we have shown how together we will transform this country.

And the depth of talent across our party.

And we have come together to honour our history as only Labour can.

Be in no doubt, the times ahead are going to be tough,

Now, let’s rise to the moment and deliver for the working people of Britain.

Let’s build a Fairer, Greener Future,

With a Labour Government in power once again.

September 28, 2022
Bridget Phillipson – 2022 Speech to Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Bridget Phillipson, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 28 September 2022.

Conference, it is the greatest privilege of all, to be here today as Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary.

Heading a fantastic team of Shadow Education Ministers.

Because nothing is more important to our futures than education.

As Keir said yesterday, Labour will run towards the challenges of tomorrow.

And if we are to solve the biggest challenges we face, spreading prosperity, tackling climate change, revitalizing our communities and building a fairer, greener future, in a world where children born today will live into the next century, where workplaces are changing as never before, where reskilling throughout life is essential, then education must be at the heart of every part of that.

And we must build a future where children come first.

Conference, this is personal for me.

My mam brought me up on her own.

I remember my time at school under the Tories.

Classes too big, books too few.

Money short and opportunities rare.

Families like mine judged, not helped.

But I was lucky.

I had a loving family, who valued education.

I went to great state schools.

With teachers who saw the value and worth, in each and every one of us.

But life should not come down to luck.

That is why I am determined that every child, in every school, in every corner of our country should have the best possible start.

So, we need a fresh vision of that education.

One that looks to the future, not the past.

A curriculum that prizes skills, as well as knowledge.

That values and nurtures creativity, alongside academic success.

We need an education system that enables every child to achieve and thrive.

Our priorities will define that vision.

Conference, that is why we will end the tax breaks private schools enjoy.

We will use that money to deliver the most ambitious school improvement programme for a generation.

Recruiting thousands more teachers to help children excel in science and maths and thrive with access to sport, art, music, and drama.

Working with brilliant teachers, leaders, support staff and unions.

We will drive up standards everywhere.

We will build a modern careers advice and work experience system.

So young people across our schools and colleges leave education, ready for work and ready for life.

Conference, it is the simple language of priorities.

The Tories put the richest first.

We put children first.

And we know these Tories will go on making the wrong choices.

Because education, under this government is like a school maths problem.

If you have five education secretaries in one year.

Three of them, who haven’t got a clue what they are doing.

Two of them, who want a return to the Fifties.

What have you got left?

I’ll tell you.

A government that is failing our children.

Childcare in crisis.

A recovery programme in chaos.

School buildings collapsing.

A skills system unfit for today, never mind tomorrow.

Universities treated as a political battleground, not a public good.

Conference, we will make different choices.

For children and families across this country.

For the world our children will inherit.

Today parents spend more on childcare than on their rent or mortgages.

Yet what do we see?

Nurseries closing.

Spiralling costs.

Mams giving up the jobs they love, because they can’t drop their kids at school and get to work on time.

The Tories denying parents choices, denying children the best start they deserve.

And yet the evidence couldn’t be clearer:

Gaps in learning and development,

Gaps in opportunities open up early.

So, our plan must start early too.

Today, Conference, I can tell you that the next Labour government will build a modern childcare system.

One that supports families from the end of parental leave,

right through to the end of primary school.

One that gives our children the start to their day,

and the start to their life,

they deserve.

One that gives parents time to succeed,

And our economy the chance to grow.

Conference, as the first step on that road, today I can announce that we will introduce breakfast clubs for every child in every primary school in England.

Breakfast clubs drive up standards and achievement.

They improve behaviour, and attendance.

Because it’s about the club, as well as the breakfast.

They enable parents to work.

They give mams and dads choices.

And they will help us build the economy we all need and the society we all want.

We will fund this landmark first step on that road by restoring the higher income tax rate for the very richest.

Because Conference, our children are our priority.

And while education starts in childhood, it doesn’t end there.

The skills system should support people, to reskill and upskill.

It should support companies to invest in their future and in ours.

Conference, it doesn’t. It needs to change and change it we will.

That’s why our announcement yesterday, building on the work of David Blunkett and the Council of Skills Advisors is crucial.

By reforming the Apprenticeships Levy we will give people opportunities to retrain, to upskill and to learn throughout life.

And we’ll drive a focus on growth across government.

By creating Skills England to bring together businesses, unions, and training providers to work in partnership, leading a national mission to upskill our country.

Conference, education is about opportunity.

For each of us, for all of us, all our life long.

But it’s about opportunity for our whole country too.

The opportunities we all gain from a growing economy, where working parents are supported to succeed, where all our children can achieve and thrive.

That is the society Labour wants to build.

We will only build that fairer society of which we all dream by closing the gap among our children and young people.

Conference, Education transformed my life.

I know it can transform every life.

It will be my mission as your Education Secretary to make sure it does.

September 28, 2022