Voters will be asked to show ID at the ballot box as government aims to crackdown on voter fraud December 27, 2016 Voters will be asked to provide proof of identification at polling stations in a government trial scheme to reduce electoral fraud. At local elections in 2018, different local authorities in England will ask voters to provide different forms of ID including driving licences, utility bills or passports. The initiative follows a report into electoral fraud and how to [...]
Rate of home ownership in the UK may be much lower than official data suggests, claims think tank December 27, 2016 The level of home ownership in the UK may be lower than conventional rates suggest, with many more now renting, according to new research. Many people now share ownership of a property or live as lodgers, suggest the Resolution Foundation think tank, meaning an official estimate of a 64 per cent home ownership rate may be [...]
UK could save nearly £40bn a year by leaving single market and customs union, claims pro-Brexit campaign group December 27, 2016 The UK could save nearly £40bn a year if it left both the European single market and customs union in a "clean Brexit", pro-leave group Change Britain has claimed in a new report. Change Britain, which is backed by a host of former Leave campaigners including Michael Gove, Nigel Lawson and Gisela Stuart, says cutting loose [...]
Philip Green says BHS successor Dominic Chappell must pay part of pension fund black hole December 26, 2016 Sir Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, wants regulators to force his successor to contribute towards plugging the black hole in the collapsed company’s pension fund, according to reports. A payment by Dominic Chappell, who infamously bought the retailer from Green for £1, is one of the conditions of the billionaire Green making his [...]
Russia plane crash likely not terrorism says intelligence service as fragments of wreckage are found December 26, 2016 Terrorism is not among the main reasons being investigated for the plane crash in Russia which killed 92 people early on Christmas morning according to the country’s defence ministry, as it expands its search in an attempt to locate the aircraft’s black box flight recorder. Russia’s Ministry of Defence has found 86 fragments of the [...]
Boxing Day footfall slump points to domination of the online retailers December 26, 2016 Boxing Day high street retail sales have fallen sharply year on year as UK shoppers stay at home and push online sales to record heights, according to early data. Half day footfall fell by six per cent compared to Boxing Day last year, according to data from retail monitors Springboard. A decline of 16.6 per [...]
India’s economy to overtake UK – and France will enjoy a brief period on top as sterling fall makes its mark December 26, 2016 India’s economy is set to overtake the UK in size in the next two years as the second largest country by population continues its heady pace of development, according to a new study. France’s GDP will also rise above the UK’s for the next five years, according to forecasts in the World Economic League Table, [...]
Brexit confusion gives foreign firms “God-given opportunity” to steal UK business says Trump commerce secretary December 26, 2016 Brexit offers a “God-given opportunity” for foreign businesses to take market share from the UK, according to comments attributed to US President-elect Donald Trump’s new trade chief. Veteran distressed debt billionaire Wilbur Ross made the comments to finance executives in Cyprus in the period after the referendum – before his appointment by Trump as US [...]
The UK must leave the EU Single Market if it is to realise Brexit opportunities says Mervyn King December 26, 2016 Leaving the European Union offers “real opportunities” for the UK – as long as it is outside the Single Market – according to former Bank of England governor Mervyn King. Lord King also said the UK should be more “self-confident” in its approach to leaving, while saying that immigration controls were non-negotiable. “There are many [...]
Millions of Brits spend holidays at work on Christmas and Boxing Day – with Londoners most likely to have their feet up December 26, 2016 Millions of Brits are spending Christmas and Boxing Day at work, in a growing trend – although Londoners are most likely to have their feet up. Almost six per cent of UK employees work on Boxing Day, while 3.3 per cent work on Christmas Day itself, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, employees [...]