The Chamber works with and on behalf of our members and the input from our members play an important role in shaping the agenda of the Chamber. We are grateful to be able to receive feedback on a regular basis when meeting our members at various events, meetings and through our survey. This year we decided to add an extra incentive to complete our survey by adding a raffle and ...
Read MoreScottish Independence Scotland’s first minister, Sturgeon, has campaigned for holding a second referendum on Scottish independence from the UK but last week the Supreme Court ruled that only Westminster could have the legal authority to grant a vote on this. The last referendum, in 2014, showed 55% support for Scotland remaining in the union versus 45% favouring the formation of a new nation. Sturgeon had planned to hold a plebiscite next year ...
Read MoreUK Recession Looms During Q3 of 2022 the UK economy contracted by 0.2% as rising costs impacted businesses and households. The Bank of England (BoE) forecasts Q4 to also be in decline which would then tip the UK into a “very challenging” two-year recession. This would mark the longest recession since records officially began in the 1920s and unemployment is expected to double to 6.5%. However, the UK remains the only ...
Read MoreWe are delighted to present our newest patron member, RPC (Reynolds Porter Chamberlain). RPC is an international commercial law firm that provides a spectrum of legal services to global business across a wide range of industry sectors and practices. The firm is headquartered in London and has offices in Bristol, Singapore, Hong Kong, and a legal presence in over 100 countries. Today the firm employs 750 professionals, and it can ...
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UK Economic Outlook The Bank of England (BoE) this week revealed it’s economic outlook for the UK with the nation set to face its longest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The country faces a “very challenging” two-year recession after the BoE believes the UK entered a recession during the summer which it estimates will not end until the first half of 2024. Secondly, the BoE anticipates that unemployment ...
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UK Tax Rises The PM (Sunak) and his Chancellor (Hunt) are said to be exploring tax increases and public spending cuts in a bid to fill the gap in public finances. The budgetary tightening of around £50bn is necessary due to the weak economic forecast delivered last week by the Office for Budget Responsibility. In context, this equates to around 2% of GDP and equals the scale of the austerity Budget ...
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak On Monday (24th October) The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP was elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party and, therefore, as the UK Prime Minister following the resignation of PM Liz Truss last week. On Tuesday, PM Sunak will travel to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III whereby the King will ask him to form a government. The new PM will then give a ...
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Jeremy Hunt appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Last Friday (14th October), the Chancellor of the Exchequer was removed by PM Liz Truss after 38 days in the job following substantial turbulence in the financial markets following his mini-Budget. This marked the shortest serving chancellor since 1970. The newly appointed Chancellor is The Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt MP who has served in the Cabinet throughout his political career. After having graduated from ...
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UK Energy Security The UK has opened a new licensing round for companies to explore for oil and gas in the North Sea (along Britain’s East coast) with 898 blocks being offered for exploration. This will result in up to 100 licenses being awarded in a bid to ease consumers’ pain from high energy prices. However, the move faces challenges from the views of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ...
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UK Economy Over the last week the UK economy has experienced substantial changes following the Chancellor’s tax-cutting mini-budget. The pound sterling fell to $1.03:£1 on Monday (26th October) due to global markets losing confidence in the UK; however, the Bank of England stepped into the bond market on Thursday with a new programme purchasing £5bn of gilts per day for the next 13 days. As such the UK government bond markets ...
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