Instead of obsessing over faulty stats, let’s celebrate the gender progress we’ve made October 26, 2018 More good news for women: according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the gender pay gap in the UK is now at its lowest on record. Coming in at 8.6 per cent for full-time workers in 2018, the average gap in hourly earnings between men and women is down from 9.1 per cent last [...]
After Jamal Khashoggi’s death we need to re-assess diplomatic immunity October 26, 2018 In 1961 the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities. It was followed in 1963 by the Vienna Convention on Consular relations, These treaties have, as of this month, been ratified by 192 and 179 states respectively. In summary, these treaties create an environment of [...]
MPs call for new tribunal system to help SMEs take on big banks October 26, 2018 A row is brewing over how to prevent another RBS-style asset stripping scandal after MPs backed a new tribunal system to help small businesses take on banks. The Treasury Select Committee is throwing its weight behind establishing a special system for settling disputes involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large banks. The plan goes [...]
Budget windfall to tackle rise of antisemitism October 26, 2018 Charities combating antisemitism are set to receive £1.7million in Monday's Budget in a bid to tackle a rise in the hate crime. Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to announce the pot of money to fund visits to Nazi concentration camps for students, as well as additional school projects such as first hand testimonies from Holocaust [...]
Philip Hammond should be unashamed to show he is a true blue in the Budget October 25, 2018 With extra funding for the NHS and an end to austerity already announced, Philip Hammond must be wondering if it is him or John McDonnell delivering next week's Budget. While the cash boost for the health service is welcome, and the narrative of ending austerity popular with certain commentators, Hammond must use the Budget to [...]
Members block the UK’s bid to fast-track its post-Brexit entry into the World Trade Organisation October 25, 2018 The UK’s bid to fast-track its post-Brexit entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed today, after other countries expressed misgivings over Britain’s approach to tariffs. The news means the UK will face a longer path towards using the WTO, by entering a lengthy period of negotiations. That means the process of joining the WTO [...]
European Parliament calls for a full audit of Facebook over its data breach track record October 25, 2018 The European Parliament has today called for a full audit to be carried out on Facebook to assess the security of its users' personal data and the firm's data protection policies, in light of this year's string of data breaches. MEPs have today adopted a resolution which urged Facebook to allow EU bodies to carry out [...]
What entrepreneurs want Philip Hammond to announce in the Autumn Budget October 25, 2018 At the Conservative party conference earlier this month, chancellor Philip Hammond announced £20m of investment in business networks “to enable small businesses to learn from each other and from world-leading firms”. He also recognised the need for mentoring and management training for small and medium-sized enterprises, pledging another £11m to help 10,000 businesses by 2025, [...]
Calls for a second referendum are unwise, undemocratic, and playing with dynamite October 25, 2018 “I want to be absolutely clear, this government will never accept a second referendum.” This statement from the Prime Minister in September should have been the end of the matter. Alas, it wasn’t. The so-called “people’s vote” scenario runs something like this. Enough Conservative MPs vote with Labour against any final EU agreement, defeating it [...]
DEBATE: Has the EU overstepped the mark by rejecting Italy’s budget? October 25, 2018 Has the EU overstepped the mark by rejecting Italy’s budget? Matthew Elliott, senior political adviser to Shore Capital, says YES. From the moment Britain’s Brexit referendum was announced in 2013, the EU started to moderate its most overt interventionist instincts, minimising Eurozone problems through quantitative easing, and restricting its tendency to meddle in the affairs [...]