Markus Andrews

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsEyebrows were raised little more than a year ago when Stuart Haire jumped from HSBC, where he ran UK personal and private banking, to become chief executive of Skipton Building Society.He was very much near the top of the global giant’s star executive chart, having held senior roles within M&S Bank, First Direct and John Lewis Financial Services, as well as HSBC UK. Compared to the mighty HSBC, the Skipton was seen as something of a backwater. He’s smiling, nodding, when this reaction is put to him. He remembers it well.Here he is, though, 49 and having just presented an impressive set of annual results, with a performance that would do any financial powerhouse proud. He laughs at the memory. “What people don’t realise is that if we were to demutualise – and we’re not going to – Skipton would go straight into the FTSE 100 of biggest listed companies.”His is an organisation with £37.2bn of total assets, more than 1,300 branches and 1.2 million members.As well as the main building society business, Skipton owns Connells, Britain’s largest estate agents with more than 80 high street brands including Hamptons, Bairstow Eves, William H Brown and Connells. It is responsible for one in ten houses bought and sold in the UK. Skipton also has a financial advisory subsidiary, a commercial estate agency and an AI software firm in New Zealand. “We’ve a range of interesting businesses, it was part of the attraction,” says Haire. “We’ve got very strong businesses and we have no shareholders – we just have customers who are our owners. It’s a breath of fresh air.”The group turned in pre-tax profits of £333.4m, up by more than £30m. Mortgage advances increased 6.3 per cent to £6.7bn, helping Skipton lift its market share by 12.7 per cent – this, despite the mortgage market being stagnant for most of the year.Savings balances also rose, by 15.4 per cent to £26bn. Again, savings market share increased, 10.7 per cent. This, too, against a savings market that grew only 1.7 per cent.Mortgage arrears of three months or more, were 0.23 per cent – against an industry average of 0.91 per cent.It may be 170 years old, and still based in picturesque Skipton, in North Yorkshire, but the society has long earned a reputation for innovation. Haire is keen for it to continue, launching Britain’s only available deposit-free mortgage, Track Record. He’s rightly proud of increasing the number of first-time buyers helped by 40 per cent. Track Record received over £62m in applications.It is genuinely deposit-free. “If you can prove you’re paying rent and the mortgage repayments will be less, then it’s likely you will get a mortgage offer. We want to assist people who don’t have part of the equity saved up, we want to help them get started as homeowners.”It also unveiled Income Booster, which allows more than one person’s income to go towards buying a home. Again, aimed at giving first-time buyers a lift.He has focused Skipton on two watchwords: homes and money. “There are too many people in the UK who desperately feel that they will never have a home of their own. Be they aspiring homeowners or renters. And that needs to change.“Homes and money are vital for individual prosperity, and for our country to thrive. The Skipton Group sits at the nexus of homes and money, and we want to drive collaborative change across the UK housing sector, to help more people put these stable foundations in place, and to help unlock opportunity and build long-term financial wellbeing, home by home, right across Britain.”He wants to see planning laws relaxed and the whole process speeded up. “We’ve got the largest estate agency in the UK. As a country, we need more houses.”For first-time buyers some areas are prohibitively expensive and in places such as Skipton, there is an additional pressure, from second-home owners. “It’s not just about the financial aspects, local and central government have got to do more. We’ve got to do more with planning permission, we must be making sure we’re getting more homes built and in locations where people want to live.”Last year saw Skipton become the Which? Recommended Mortgage Provider. It was awarded the Your Mortgage – Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Lender, together with being named, at the What Mortgage Awards 2023, Best National Building Society for the 10th year in a row.“Looking ahead, our ambition is to make a positive impact to tackle the UK’s housing crisis by enabling more first-time buyers to realise their homeownership aspirations.”Skipton, he says, “has great potential to drive transformative change in the housing market and financial services industry, leveraging our collective capability to drive change, influence decision makers and campaign on the issues that matter to our members and wider society.”Savers are not forgotten. “We’re supporting our savers, passing on over 75 per cent of 2023’s base rate increases, which is above our competitors, while even our lowest rate on an instant-access account is well ahead of the market average.”Saving members received £148m more interest than if they had taken market average rate saving products. They were able to take advantage of “member only“ offers.“What attracted me to Skipton is its unwavering member-focused purpose and its huge potential to help more people.”Skipton Building Society offers Britain’s only deposit-free mortgageHe says Skipton is a society that has always believed in keeping things simple, no frills. It’s in the DNA. “Its roots are here, in Yorkshire. We’re a massive local employer and we ensure that one per cent of our profits go to charity. We’re very much aware of our history and responsibility.”Haire himself is from Glasgow – “a scumbag from Glasgow is how I am viewed in these parts,” he jokes. “I was always taught never to get ahead of myself, never to let ego get in the way. That’s also true of the people of Yorkshire. They work exceptionally hard and they’re very proud.”In the year ahead, he is expecting rates to remain high. “They will come down but not by so much.”He’s predicting “low growth” for the economy. “We’re starting to see confidence return. There are signs of real green shoots. In the housing market, mortgage applications are up 14 per cent, viewings are up 12 per cent and sales are up 12 per cent. Confidence is returning.”Unlike HSBC, you sense, the Skipton has given him mission and purpose. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has refused to back Post Office chief executive Nick Read after it emerged he is under investigation.The prime minister told MPs that it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment when challenged in the Commons to back Mr Read’s leadership of the company.His response came a day after Downing Street offered assurances over Mr Read after former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton highlighted the existence of an 80-page report compiled by the organisation’s HR director.Our focus remains working closely with the Post Office to ensure it delivers justice for postmasters caught up in this historic scandalPrime minister Rishi SunakMr Staunton, who claims he has been the victim of a “smear campaign” since his public fallout with business secretary Kemi Badenoch, said his own behaviour was only referenced once in the document about Mr Read.Rishi Sunak said it would be inappropriate to comment before the investigation had concluded (James Manning/PA)Speaking at PMQs, Labour MP Kevan Jones told the Commons: “After yesterday’s revelation that Nick Read, the CEO of the Post Office, is under investigation for an 80-page report written by the former head of HR at the Post Office, does the prime minister and the business secretary have confidence in Nick Read’s leadership at the Post Office?”Mr Sunak replied: “It would clearly be inappropriate for me to comment on an investigation before it has been completed.“Our focus remains working closely with the Post Office to ensure it delivers justice for postmasters caught up in this historic scandal and that is why we will imminently bring forward legislation that we promised.”On Tuesday, asked if the government and No 10 has confidence in Mr Read, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “Yes.”Downing Street would not be drawn on when No 10 became aware of the investigation into Mr Reed, with the prime minister’s official spokesman saying he would not comment on “internal matters”.Labour former minister Dame Angela Eagle questioned why Mr Sunak had opted not to comment, adding: “And yet he allows his trade secretary to comment freely, loudly and often on Twitter.“Is he content with her activities and her behaviour in this respect?”Mr Sunak replied: “The business secretary set out her position explicitly and clearly in the House last week, and actually since then, and despite some of the claims that were made by the party opposite, the former permanent secretary at the department has completely refuted the claims that were made, and yesterday the current CEO and the director of business resilience at the department refuted Mr Staunton’s recollection.”What there is, actually, is Mr Read fell out with his HR director and she produced a ‘speak up’ document which was 80 pages thick. Within that was one paragraph… about comments that I allegedly madeHarry Staunton in evidence to MPsDowning Street was repeatedly challenged about Ms Badenoch’s decision to reveal that Mr Staunton had been the subject of a bullying investigation.Mr Staunton said the investigation was actually into Mr Read.The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I’m not going to offer any further commentary on HR investigations and HR matters.”Asked if Ms Badenoch lied to the Commons, he said: “I have nothing further to add to what the business secretary has already said on the floor of the House in relation to this matter.”Mr Staunton’s comments about the 80-page report came at an evidence session with MPs on the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday.He previously said he had been told to delay payouts to subpostmasters affected by problems with the Horizon computer system, which led to Ms Badenoch accusing him of spreading “made-up anecdotes”.Asked if he was informed that his behaviour was under investigation in November last year, Mr Staunton said: “What there is, actually, is Mr Read fell out with his HR director and she produced a ‘speak up’ document which was 80 pages thick.“Within that was one paragraph… about comments that I allegedly made.“So, this is an investigation, not into me, this is an investigation made into the chief executive Nick Read.“That one paragraph you could say was about politically incorrect comments attributed to me which I strenuously deny.“This was not an investigation into me, this was an investigation based on the 80-page document prepared by the HR director.”Mr Staunton continued: “This 80-page document was actually taking a terrible toll on Nick Read.“He said: ‘I’m not being supported by the board, this is just bad news for me and my family, I’m going to resign tomorrow, I’ve just had enough’.”The Post Office said it was investigating a complaint against a number of people including Mr Read, but that he had never offered to resign.The Horizon IT scandal saw more than 700 subpostmasters prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.Hundreds of subpostmasters are still awaiting compensation despite the government announcing those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts. 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Rishi Sunak took aim at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claiming the Conservative party “expels anti-semites, while he makes them Labour candidates” in a heated Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (28 February).The prime minister appeared to be referring to the Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali, following his comments on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.Mr Ali told a meeting of activists that Israel deliberately allowed the 7 October attacks by Hamas to take place in order to give it the “green light” to invade Gaza.Addressing Sir Keir, Mr Sunak said: “The truth is, his party is so mired in hate that despite three ex-Labour candidates standing, [Starmer] can’t back a single one of them.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak faces Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 28 February.The pair go head-to-head for the first time since Lee Anderson was suspended from the Conservative Party for refusing to apologise over comments made about Sadiq Khan.Senior Tories have faced mounting pressure in recent days to describe the former deputy chairman’s attack on the Mayor of London as “Islamophobic” as the row over his comments entered its sixth day.The prime minister and others have condemned Mr Anderson’s comments, but have so far shied away from calling them “Islamophobic”.Their reluctance to use the term has been criticised by Labour as “weak”, with one frontbencher saying the prime minister was “in hock” to “a strange coalition of MPs”.Mr Sunak will also take questions from MPs for the first time since the House of Commons descended into chaos last week over a vote about a ceasefire in Gaza – leading to more than 80 MPs calling for speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to resign. More

Sir Keir Starmer taunted Rishi Sunak during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 28 February, by referring to the Conservative party as the “political wing of the Flat Earth Society.”The Labour leader said the Tories have been “claiming that Britain is run by a shadowy cabal made up of activists, the deep state, and most chillingly of all the Financial Times,” referring to Liz Truss’s comments at CPAC in the US.The former prime minister blamed the “deep state” for “sabotaging” her controversial tax-cutting plans from Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget. More

Rishi Sunak refused to reveal whether Nigel Farage would be joining the Conservative party after he was questioned by Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (28 February).Speaking in the Commons, the Labour leader said: “(Liz Truss) also claimed that Nigel Farage is the man to restore the Tory party, can the prime minister confirm whether he too would welcome Mr Farage back into the Tory fold?”Mr Sunak replied: “In our party we have a proud tradition of diversity and accepting everyone from every background, it is a proud record that puts Labour to shame.” More

Liz Truss should not have the Conservative whip removed as she “did nothing wrong”, policing minister Chris Philp told Sky News on Wednesday (28 February).Labour called for the former prime minister to lose the whip for her media appearances that caused anger within Tory ranks.Ms Truss claimed her efforts to cut taxes were “sabotaged” by the “administrative state and the deep state” during a talk at CPAC in the US.She also took part in an interview with Steve Bannon and remained silent as he described far-right figure Tommy Robinson as a “hero.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMembers of Generation Z are shunning traditional news outlets in favour of social media, despite saying they trust its content less, according to a study on the UK’s media habits.The research also found 18-24 year olds were twice as likely to get their news from TikTok than the BBC.Lee Cain, the former No 10 communications director and founding partner at Charlesbye, the communications firm which commissioned the study, said the findings indicated so-called Gen Z was ushering in a “post-truth media age”.The report, Talking to the Nation: How To Speak To Modern Britain, saw Research Interactive, acting on Charlesbye’s behalf, conduct polling and focus groups with more than 8,000 people.The study, said to be one of the largest of its kinds in the UK, asked people to rank their most trusted media outlet.Among Gen Z participants — traditionally defined as those born between 1997 and 2012 — television news channels scored highest with 31%, newspapers topped a fifth of lists and dedicated news websites scored highly with 13% of respondents.All three ranked above commentators on social media, which was most trusted among 11% of so-called Zoomers.Despite that, more than a third of people surveyed aged between 18-24 and who said they followed the news stated that social media feeds were their primary news source, compared to almost a fifth who said television, 13% who said newspapers and 12% who said news websites.Traditional media was found to still dominate among older people.According to the report published on Wednesday, nearly half of 45-54 year olds who follow news said they received at least 40% of their news from TV, 16% from newspapers and a fifth from news websites.This generation is ushering in a post-truth media age where they prioritise content over truthOnly 12% in that age bracket said their primary news source was social media.Mr Cain said: “Gen Z is overwhelmingly turning to social media for news, despite trusting it far less than traditional news sources.“This generation is ushering in a post-truth media age where they prioritise content over truth.“This trust deficit could have huge implications in a year of elections across the world and geopolitical uncertainty — preparing the ground for an explosion of deep fakes and disinformation campaigns.”Mr Cain is a former journalist who was part of the Vote Leave campaign during the Brexit referendum.He later served as director of communications under Boris Johnson’s premiership and was involved in the decision to unlawfully prorogue Parliament in 2019 during the row around exiting the European Union.His Downing Street leaving do in November 2020 was among the events investigated as part of a probe by former senior civil servant Sue Gray into the coronavirus partygate scandal.The report commissioned by Mr Cain’s firm also found that young people are twice as likely to get their news from TikTok than the BBC.More than 40% of 18-24 year olds receive news from the Chinese-owned social media giant once a day or more, compared to 19% for the BBC, the study found.Instagram (44%), Facebook (33%) and Elon Musk’s X (24%), formerly known as Twitter, were also more frequented than the national broadcaster by those in Gen Z, the study found.The report says that 18-24 year olds are the least engaged in current affairs, with only a third specifically reading, listening or watching news outlets to keep in touch with what is going on.Elsewhere, Britons were found to still be avid consumers of news, with three-quarters of the population consuming news on a daily basis, while more than two-thirds said they read a newspaper at least on a monthly basis.Older generations are significantly more likely to stay on top of current affairs, with nearly 90% of over-55s doing so on a daily basis.Television was found by the survey to be Britain’s most trusted source of news. More