Earlier this year, a French experiment offered a startling glimpse of what progressive green policymaking can achieve. In an effort to boost demand, Emmanuel Macron’s government introduced a social leasing scheme allowing less well-off commuters to pay an affordable monthly rate for a new electric vehicle (EV). Within a month, demand boomed to the extent that…

The owner of the Mulberry fashion brand has rejected an increased £111m bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group to buy the British luxury handbag maker, saying it has “no interest” in selling its shares. Challice, a group controlled by Singaporean entrepreneur Christina Ong and her husband, Ong Beng Seng, which owns 56% of Mulberry –…

Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia is in exclusive negotiations to buy Harland & Wolff, the owner of the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, in a deal that could rescue up to 1,000 jobs. It is understood the group could take control of the group’s four yards – in Belfast; Appledore, Devon; Arnish on the Isle…

Sky is likely to appeal against a planning decision blocking the expansion of its film studios, amid signs that the Labour government is willing to allow building on the green belt to prioritise economic growth. Sky Studios Elstree already has a new state-of-the art film and TV studio in Hertfordshire with 12 sound stages across…

The business secretary has said Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise national insurance applied to employees but he did not rule out raising employers’ contributions in the budget. Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Jonathan Reynolds was asked if the pledge applied both to employees’ and employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs). He replied:…

I have always been drawn to growth. I love the opportunities that growth creates, as well as the chance to have a positive impact on so many people, not just your customers, but your employees. When Keir Starmer asked me to become his government’s investment minister, it was his clear focus on growth that made…

I was in a meeting recently between MPs and BBC execs. The former wanted to talk about one thing: getting more of the BBC’s jobs and spending out of London. Fair enough. Our national broadcaster should be… national. Everyone agrees on the need to increase the range of people and perspectives on our screens but how much…

A woman who sued her former employer over not being given a leaving card lost her case when it was revealed it had been hidden from her after only three people signed it. Karen Conaghan claimed that the “failure to acknowledge her existence” at IAG, the parent company of British Airways, was a breach of…

Keir Starmer has rebuked the transport secretary after she described P&O Ferries as a “rogue operator” and appeared to call for a boycott of the firm. Louise Haigh criticised P&O Ferries on Wednesday while announcing new worker protections, referring to the firm as a “rogue operator”. She also said she had boycotted the ferry company…

Boeing 737 MAX airliners are pictured at the company’s factory on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Renton, Wash. Stephen Brashear | AP Boeing will cut 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 people, as the company’s losses mount and a machinist strike that has idled its aircraft factories enters its fifth week. It will also…