The Labour Government is being accused of seeking to ‘bulldoze through the Home Counties,’ the Telegraph says, because of its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which is being launched today. The Government says the new policies will “accelerate housebuilding and deliver 1.5 million homes over this Parliament,” but the newspaper says Housing Secretary Angela Rayner intends it to pave the way for thousands of housing estates across the South East, by building on the green belt around major cities. The NPPF will also confirm a government definition of ‘grey belt’ land of supposedly poor quality green belt land, fuelling concerns it will be drawn so widely that it could lead to legal wrangling over proposed developments. According to The Times, a wider definition of what ‘grey belt’ is, could result in about 100,000 homes a year being built on previously protected land. Rayner said: “Today’s landmark overhaul will sweep away last year’s damaging changes and shake-up a broken planning system which caves into the blockers and obstructs the builders. I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5m new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.” Conservative Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “The Conservatives delivered over a million homes in the last parliament, but it is vital that even more are built in the right places with the right infrastructure. Labour will bulldoze through the concerns of local communities. If Labour really want homes to be built where they are needed, they must think again.”

Energy bills could rise for most us to pay off debts incurred by others, The Telegraph reports this morning, warning the idea is being considered by energy regulator Ofgem to pay off a £3.8bn debt mountain built up by indebted homes during the energy crisis. Further levies may also be put on energy suppliers. Ofgem said: “The level of debt built up during that period has become unsustainable, and requires a bespoke, one-off solution to tackle it that will drive down the costs of debt in the long term for the benefit of all consumers.” As the energy price cap already includes a “debt cost allowance”, under which suppliers can increase their bills in order to raise money to cover debts, it is understood that this could be a key mechanism for raising the money to reduce consumer debt. Customer debts for gas and electricity rose by £100m in just the three months to September, taking the total owed to suppliers to a record £3.8bn. Debts have more than doubled since the beginning of 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent gas prices surging, the newspaper says.

Ofgem is also investigating the possibility of forcing energy suppliers to offer tariffs with no standing charges, after asking the public's views on them and receiving an unprecedented response from some 30,000 people. Most were against standing charges, the fixed fees, typically totalling more than £300 a year, which are paid regardless of how much energy households use. Under Ofgem's price cap, standing charges have risen by 43% since 2019. Now, Ofgem is proposing suppliers offer one price-capped tariff that includes the standing charge, and another that adds costs onto energy usage charges instead.

The Supreme Court has granted permission for two motor finance lenders, Close Brothers and MotoNovo owner FirstRand to appeal a landmark ruling on the payment of “secret” commission payments to car dealers without the knowledge of the borrower, a practice the Court of Appeal ruled to be unlawful in October. If upheld, the ruling could land the industry with a £30bn compensation bill. The Financial Conduct Authority, meanwhile, is running an investigation into what harms may have been caused by these discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), which were banned in 2021.

Elon Musk's electric car (EV) firm Tesla lobbied the UK Government to make petrol car drivers "pay more" it has been revealed. A FOI request made by EV newsletter The Fast Charge has uncovered a letter written by the firm to Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood in July which also called for the controversial Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate to be extended to lorries. "The government should ask those still choosing to purchase a new polluting vehicle, to pay more," Tesla's European boss, Joe Ward, wrote, adding that Tesla "applauded the Labour Party's strong position [on] decarbonisation of the energy system by 2030, growth and net zero". The Government is currently consulting on changes to the ZEV mandate, which puts a 22% EV sales target on carmakers, rising to 80% by 2030, after lobbying by carmakers who say the policy isn’t working because demand for EVs is too low. However, the Tesla letter said the ZEV "must be protected and strengthened". Tesla also lobbied for Labour to lead on the "scale up of autonomous vehicles", and offered a demonstration of the companies' vision.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has become the first person in history to be worth $400bn (£314bn) after a rally in Tesla stock and a SpaceX share deal this week which pushed his net worth to $439.2bn, according to Bloomberg. His fortune is now almost double that of the world’s second richest man, Jeff Bezos, whose wealth is estimated at $244bn.

Currys is the latest firm to warn about the impact of Labour’s tax raid on its finances. In its half-year results published this morning, the consumer electronics retailer said the estimated cost of tax policy changes announced in the October Budget could amount to as much as £32m. This includes a £9m hit due to National Living Wage increases; a £12m increase in the group’s National Insurance bill, £2m from the inflation-based increase in Business Rates and as much as £9m as costs are passed on from suppliers. Currys’ management said that while it would look to offset some of these cost pressures with cost saving measures, including “process improvement, automation, offshoring, outsourcing and overhead efficiencies,” some price rises “would be inevitable.”

Vodafone franchisees have launched legal action against the telecoms giant over “bad faith” business practices. The claim, filed to the Commercial Court of the High Court by law firm IBB Law, involves 61 current and former Vodafone franchisees, and seeks more than £120m in redress. The franchisees claim Vodafone has breached the terms of their Franchise Agreement by imposing irrational and arbitrary business decisions on them from July 2020. It also alleges franchisees were sold the programme with the promise of uncapped earning potential but that commission structures meant their stores were loss-making. It also claims Vodafone itself benefited from Government business rate reliefs intended for the franchisees when facing financial distress during Covid lockdowns and other restrictions. City AM reports one of the franchisees, Andrew Kerr from Northern Ireland, as saying: “It started off as a dream – and it’s ended up as a nightmare that haunts me every day. I felt I became Vodafone’s piggy bank. They pushed me to the point of financial ruin, and then took away my stores leaving me in crippling debt.” Vodafone, which recently left the British Franchise Association, which promotes ethical franchising in the UK, said: “We are aware of the allegations and take them very seriously, and we are sorry to any franchisee who has had a difficult experience. While we have acknowledged challenges were faced by some franchisees, we strongly refute claims that Vodafone has ‘unjustly enriched’ itself at the expense of small businesses. Our franchise model is a commercial relationship. We offer our franchise partners a large amount of cost-free support, but, as with any business, commercial success is not guaranteed. The majority of franchise partners are profitable and there is strong demand among our current franchisees to take on new stores. We maintain that where issues have been raised, we have sought to rectify these and believe we have treated our franchisees fairly”.

HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group have terminated their membership of the Lending Standards Board (LSB), Sky News reports. Their resignations - alongside that of Santander UK in April - mean that three of the country's big five lenders have quit the organisation this year. The LSB is a self-regulatory body whose origins began in the Banking Code Standards Board designed in 1992 by the British Bankers' Association and other trade associations, Sky explains. In a statement issued to the newscaster, an LSB spokesperson said: "We disagree profoundly with HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group's decision to withdraw from the LSB's business Standards. As a result of this withdrawal, many of these banks' SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) customers will not be protected by the oversight of either the LSB or FCA. This will put these SMEs at a greater risk of harm." However, banking industry sources said the decision to withdraw had been made because membership duplicated regulatory standards to which the industry is now required to adhere. A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: "We remain dedicated to delivering good outcomes and upholding exemplary standards for our customers. We have valued the LSB's role in enhancing standards but there is now significant duplication with other regulation that has been introduced in recent years." HSBC declined to comment.

British supercar maker McLaren has been sold to CYVN Holdings, which is managed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, in a deal presided over by the Emirate’s crown prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Woking-based company has until now been owned by state-owned Bahraini investment outfit Mumtalakat. McLaren posted record annual losses of £924m in 2023, up from £349m the year prior, after the number of cars the business sold dropped by 6%, to 2,248 units. The terms of the deal will see Mumtalakat retain control of the McLaren racing brand, with CYVN coming in as a minority shareholder.

Super League club Hull FC was taken over yesterday by former Leeds Rhinos president Andrew Thirkill and businessman David Hood, who are together worth a reported £500m. Hood will join the board, Thirkill will become chair, and former owner Adam Pearson will become a consultant.

Companies floating in London have raised just $1bn (£790m) this year – down by 9% on last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The sum is $40bn behind the US, which ranked first in the world.

Sir Clive Cowdery, a Labour supporter who campaigned against Brexit, is in line for a significant payday after selling his insurance business, Resolution Life, to Japanese conglomerate Nippon Life for $10.6bn (£8.3bn), the Telegraph reports. Cowdrey founded Resolution Life in 2019, basing the company in Bermuda. It purchases blocks of old life insurance policies and makes money by managing them. The 61-year-old entrepreneur has backed a variety of Left-wing ventures, including publishing Prospect Magazine, edited by Alan Rusbridger, the former editor of The Guardian. His charitable trust, Resolution Trust, also bankrolls the Left-of-centre Resolution Foundation think tank. He is expected to donate a sizeable portion of his undisclosed windfall from the Nippon sale into the charity, based on past performance, when he has donated half of his profits from each sale of his earlier companies. In 2009 he made about £160m after selling Resolution Plc for £5bn to Pearl Group, which later became FTSE 100 giant Phoenix Group. He then created a new Resolution acquisition vehicle entity, buying Friends Provident and a division of Axa to create Friends Life, which he sold to Aviva for £5.6bn, making a further £220m from that deal. Despite his strong Labour support, it was the Conservative coalition government under David Cameron that knighted him for services to children and social mobility. He was born into poverty in Bristol, and has said he “grew up on the welfare state”. Unable to read until he was 10 or write until he was 12, he left school with three O-levels before going into the insurance sector.

Magners cider owner C&C Group has appointed Roger White as CEO. White, the former head of AG Barr, the FTSE 250 owner of Irn Bru for over two decades, will take up the role on 20^th January. Prior to joining AG Barr, he spent 15 years at Rank Hovis McDougall Group. He replaces former CEO Patrick McMahon, who quit in June after just a year in the role as it emerged a number of accounting mistakes and "errors of judgement" had been made while he was CFO. Chair Ralph Findlay stepped in as interim CEO following McMahon's departure.

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