
Julian Harris: Is Sorry the Hardest Word for UK Chancellors?
By
Nearly three years on, the Tories have apologized for their disastrous mini-budget that put sterling into freefall and forced the Bank of England to prop up government debt. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said today that the party 'put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected' during Liz Truss's brief and calamitous spell as prime minister in the autumn of 2022.
In a speech at the Royal Society of Arts, trailed in some media last night, Stride admitted that regaining credibility 'will take time. And it also requires contrition.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel vows to stop aid boat with Greta Thunberg and other activists on board from reaching Gaza
Israel vowed on Sunday to stop an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists on board from reaching Gaza. As of Sunday evening, the UK-flagged civilian vessel was north of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea, slowly approaching the coast of Gaza. The 'Madleen' is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organization that has campaigned against Israel's blockade of Gaza and tried to break the siege by boat. 'We know that it's a very risky mission and we know that previous experiences with flotillas like this have resulted in attacks, violence and even cases of death,' Thunberg told CNN on Saturday. 'But of course none of those risks are even remotely as high as the risk that Palestinians are facing everyday just by trying to survive.' Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated that the Madleen, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, would not make it to the besieged enclave. 'I have instructed the IDF to ensure that the 'Madleen' flotilla does not reach Gaza,' said Katz in a statement, referring to the name of the ship. Katz warned the ship that 'you'd better turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.' Thunberg and the Madleen expect to reach Gaza within the next day, organizer Yasemin Acar told CNN on Saturday. 'We are still on our way to Gaza. There's no turning back, and we're hoping to make it into Gaza within two days,' Acar said. The coalition campaigns to end Israel's blockade of Gaza and has tried to reach the enclave several times in the past After an 11-week blockade that prevented any humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, Israel has begun allowing a trickle of aid in once again. But it is only a fraction of the aid that entered the enclave before the war, with humanitarian organizations warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis and the growing risk of widespread famine. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, said on social media that the flotilla carries more than food. 'It is not only the aid, it is the HUMANITY THEY CARRY. For all of us,' she said. The crew, which has publicized the location of the ship with an online tracker, began preparing for the possibility of interception by the Israeli military. Among those joining the crew are Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, and 'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham. 'From both a legal and moral standpoint, Israel has no right to intercept this vessel,' the group said in a statement. 'The people of Gaza, under siege, starving, and facing the threat of annihilation, have the legal right to decide who enters their territories.' Last month, another vessel from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition came under what its organizers said was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters. The group did not provide evidence that the drone was Israeli, while the Israeli military has declined to comment on the alleged attack. The ship, the 'Conscience,' was heading to Malta, where a large contingent of activists were due to board before it departed for Gaza, more than 1,000 miles away, but had not made it into port, the group said. The coalition told CNN that Thunberg was among those who were expected to board the vessel in Malta.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
London must ‘market its successes better' to avoid another Wise
Britain must emulate the success of Nasdaq and get better at trumpeting its business success stories if it wants to attract more companies to list in London, one of the UK's top fintech venture capital investors has said. Speaking to City AM the day that payments darling Wise revealed plans to ditch its primary listing for New York, Anthemis founder Amy Nauiokas said the London Stock Exchange (LSE) should try emulate the support promotion the US's tech-heavy bourse gives its new constituents. 'It's not brain surgery,' said Nauiokas, whose firm has been an early-stage backer of fintech success stories like Etoro, Zoopla and Tide. 'They [the LSE] need to promise UK entrepreneurs that there's a path here, and that they'll support them, build an ecosystem around them, and give the perks that the Nasdaq gives them.' London capital markets have been locked in a multi-year struggle to attract and retain some of its brightest companies. Since the start of 2024 alone, cherished listed firms like Darktrace, TUI and most DS Smith have all delisted or been taken private from the capital's stock market. And promising UK-headquartered scale-ups like Arm have opted to list in New York over London, with other darlings like Revolut and Klarna looking likely to follow suit. Departed firms have tended to cite London's stubbornly low valuations and lower liquidity relative to its US rivals, but Nauiokas argued that the lengths to which New York goes to promote and celebrate its new additions was just as important a factor. Commenting on the Nasdaq's custom of advertising its fresh listings in New York's Time Square, she said: 'Half the reason why people go there is so they get to see their their picture on 45th Street.' Her comments ring true with the rationale for ditching London given by Wise, which floated in the UK to great fanfare in 2021. Billionaire cofounder Kristo Kaarmannder said a US listing would help raise Wise's profile in the country as it joins the many London-based fintech giants looking to expand their services in the world's largest market. 'We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our owners,' he said in the firm's statement announcing its planned departure. Nauiokas, whose firm invests in start-ups in both the US and UK with offices in both New York and London, said she understood the Wise board's decision, adding that were she a secondary capital and pre-IPO dealmaker, she 'would probably say the best option right now was either a dual listing or a US-based IPO'. But despite the downbeat rhetoric surrounding the London Stock Exchange, she added that the ongoing political turmoil in America was something on which London – and Europe as a whole – should be poised to capitalise. 'It strikes me that all the opportunity is here [in London],' she said. 'This is a moment. A moment for investors to find great entrepreneurs and make money, but also a moment for regulatory navel gazing – government navel gazing – private partnership navel gazing – to say we could do something here. Let's do something.' Family offices and institutional money are increasingly looking to reduce the weighting of US assets in their portfolio in response to the capricious and unpredictable policy directives from the White House, Nauiokas said. Many ultra-rich families have re-weighted their portfolios from an '80/20 North America to Europe to now 50/50'. 'I'm super excited about the UK specifically. But it needs to take this moment of market geopolitical dislocation,' she said, adding: 'The LSE can do a much better job of reshaping its proposition, and the government needs to get rid of stamp duty on shares.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


CNN
44 minutes ago
- CNN
On GPS: Ukraine's drone attack was a ‘Trojan horse' moment
Retired US Navy Adm. James Stavridis tells Fareed why Ukraine's recent drone attack on Russian bases was a 'Trojan horse' moment — and shares some advice for President Trump on how he should deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.