The art of the deal: Five things we learned from Trump’s tax returns May 8, 2019 Hours after one of Donald Trump’s closest White House allies, Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, formally refused the Democrats’ request for the President’s tax returns late on Monday, the cat was out of the bag. Trump’s much-sought after tax returns reveal massive losses throughout the eighties and nineties for the self-styled master of the deal, topping more [...]
Sterling slips as UK prepares to take part in European elections May 8, 2019 The pound slipped 0.23 per cent this morning from $1.307 to $1.304 following yesterday's confirmation that the UK will take part in the EU elections. The 0.23 per cent drop comes after the government repeatedly said it did not want the UK to take part in the elections to the European Parliament later this month. [...]
Labour’s renationalisation plan isn’t just illiterate, it’s immoral May 8, 2019 Want to buy something, but can’t quite afford it? Just use a simple trick from John McDonnell. Here’s how it works. You say: “We’ll pay a fraction of the actual price.” They say: “Sorry, you can’t do that.” You say: “Yes, we can. We’re the government.” That, in essence, is Labour’s plan to renationalise the [...]
Stamp duty is making the housing crisis even worse May 8, 2019 There is no silver bullet to fixing the nation’s housing crisis, short of the obvious but politically challenging solution of building a lot more houses. Nonetheless, certain taxes and regulations make an already flawed market even more distorted and act as additional barriers to those seeking to buy and sell homes. And in the case [...]
Treasury Committee chair Morgan criticises government over economic crime reforms May 8, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee Nicky Morgan MP criticised the government today for failing to create a register of politically exposed persons to help fight economic crime. Morgan was commenting on the government’s response today to the Committee’s recent report on economic crime. “It is disappointing that the government has chosen not to endorse [...]
Government’s digital identification system Verify is ‘failing users’ May 8, 2019 The government’s flagship digital identification programme is failing users and has not delivered value for money, according to a damning new report. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the Verify programme, which it said has been hampered by a catalogue of problems and has failed to deliver the benefits originally promised. Read more: "Grave [...]
European elections will definitely go ahead, government confirms May 7, 2019 European parliament elections in the UK will definitely go ahead the government has confirmed as it announced there is not enough time to deliver Brexit before May 23. David Lidington, the de facto Deputy Prime Minster, made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, less than an hour before talks between the government and Labour over breaking the [...]
Theresa May to meet Tory committee chair amid calls to name departure date May 7, 2019 Theresa May is due to meet the chair of the Tories influential backbench committee today as she comes under renewed pressure to name her departure date. The Prime Minister will meet Sir Graham Brady to discuss her future after a number of local Tory associations confirmed they will hold a vote of no confidence in [...]
This series of UK politics feels suspiciously like daytime TV May 7, 2019 Last week’s local elections were a democratic amuse bouche. A mere mouthful of popular sentiment, sending a message to the political elite that an offering meant to delight the taste buds has fallen as flat as a soggy souffle. Like a daytime TV rerun of MasterChef, it involved lots of familiar names and tried but [...]
The British aversion to foreign languages isn’t charming – it’s a diplomatic travesty May 7, 2019 Avez-VOUS bien fermé votre porte à clé ce matin? How many Londoners would immediately understand this sentence on their morning commutes? I would wager not many. Certainly, if the English equivalent were written in Der Spiegel, la Repubblica, or Aftonbladet, the majority of German, Italian, or Swedish readers would have no problem telling you what [...]