News
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng wants to scrap the cap on bankers’ bonuses
The cap, introduced in 2014, limits the amount bankers can receive in bonuses to twice their annual salary
The new UK chancellor may have only been in post for ten days, but he’s already causing a stir in the Treasury – first by sacking the department’s top civil servant of thirty years, and now by ditching the cap on banker’s bonuses.
Kwasi Kwarteng, appointed to the position by Liz Truss on 6 September, is said to be considering scrapping the cap on banker’s bonuses in a bid to make the City of London ‘more globally competitive’, reports The Huffington Post.
The cap, introduced in 2014, limits the amount bankers can receive in bonuses to twice their annual salary. So under the current rules, a banker on £165,000 would be able to take home up to £330,000 in bonuses on top of their annual salary.
Prior to the EU’s introduction of the cap, bankers were more likely to take large risks like those which led to the financial crash of 2008 (and a subsequent £500 billion UK taxpayer bailout for those banks considered ‘too big to fail’).
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Considering the government has been advising pay restraint in the public and private sector as essential for tackling inflation, currently at 9.9% according to The Consumer Prices Index, the move is likely to prove unpopular with voters.
Still, the desire to ditch the cap is not new. The Conservative party has been opposed to the policy from the start, with George Osborne attempting to overturn it at the European court of justice when it was first introduced.
According to the Financial Times, Kwarteng has told City bosses: “We need to be decisive and do things differently.”
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He is expected to reveal a mini-Budget in parliament next week following the national period of mourning for the Queen, in which he will confirm the government is also scrapping the rise in national insurance payments introduced to support the NHS, and ditching plans to increase corporation tax.
Feature image – Flickr / Wikimedia Commons
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
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Featured image: The Manc Group
News
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
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“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.
You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.
Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)
Georgina Pellant -
16th September 2022 
