Sadiq Khan proposes council tax hike to tackle ‘brutal reality’ of violent crime December 20, 2018 London mayor Sadiq Khan has said he will increase council tax by the maximum amount possible to tackle violent crime in the capital. Khan's proposal would see his share of council tax increase by 9 per cent, or £26.28 a year in cash terms, for an average Band D council tax payer, taking the overall precept [...]
A second referendum wouldn’t be undemocratic… but it would be disastrous December 20, 2018 As a Dutch Anglophile and a committed European, my natural sympathies lie with those currently aiming to preserve the ties that bind the UK to the European Union. What the massive street protests and the passionate people’s vote campaign make clear is that many Brits are as attached to their newly-won European rights as they [...]
DEBATE: With student debt now blowing a hole in the government’s budget, should tuition fees be cut? December 20, 2018 With student debt now blowing a hole in the government’s budget, should tuition fees be cut? Iain Mansfield, a former senior civil servant, says YES. This week’s decision to reclassify student loans has exposed the myth that tuition fees were the only way of making mass higher education affordable – they were never affordable, just off [...]
The government’s immigration proposals aren’t perfect but they include plenty to cheer about December 19, 2018 Yesterday, this column predicted that the government's immigration white paper would be a pretty rum Christmas present for business. Today, we have to acknowledge that while the proposals don't satisfy everyone (or more accurately, every sector) there are elements to cheer. The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, is known for a more liberal approach to immigration [...]
China arrests another Canadian in the wake of Huawei executive arrest in Vancouver, as diplomatic rift deepens December 19, 2018 China has detained another Canadian as the international fallout from the arrest of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s chief financial officer in Vancouver deepens. The incident follows the arrest of two other Canadians by Chinese authorities – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor – which in turn came in the wake of Huawei CFO [...]
Former Labour whip found guilty of perverting the course of justice December 19, 2018 Former Labour whip Fiona Onasanya has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice after lying to police to avoid a speeding fine. The MP for Peterborough denied she was behind the wheel when her car was caught doing 41mph in a 30mph zone in Cambridgeshire. But she was convicted today in a retrial [...]
Immigration after Brexit: Here’s how the City reacted to Sajid Javid’s white paper December 19, 2018 The government has outlined proposals for rules on immigration after the UK leaves the European Union next year, prompting a flurry of responses from business leaders across the City. Unveiled by home secretary Sajid Javid this afternoon, the document said low-skilled workers entering the UK from EU countries will no longer receive automatic approval to work in [...]
Javid sets out post-Brexit immigration rules in hotly anticipated white paper December 19, 2018 Home secretary Sajid Javid has unveiled the government's post-Brexit immigration plans in a white paper this afternoon, with low-skilled workers no longer automatically receiving the right to work in the UK. Javid had said earlier in the day that the plans wouldn't include a specific target to reduce annual net migration to the UK, however Prime Minister [...]
Jeremy Corbyn accused of calling Theresa May a ‘stupid woman’ at PMQs December 19, 2018 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of calling Theresa May a "stupid woman" during Prime Minister's Questions today, as calls mounted for him to apologise. The Prime Minister was mocking Corbyn during a clash over the government's Brexit deal, at which point he was caught on parliamentary cameras muttering words to himself. Speaker John Bercow was [...]
Theresa May’s #My100Days challenge: Prioritise business post-Brexit December 19, 2018 Earlier this year, I heard about a new Twitter initiative, known as the #My100Days challenge. The campaign encouraged everyone to think about what they could accomplish over the course of 100 days. Commitments ranged from spending more time with family and friends to getting involved in volunteering projects. With exactly this length of time left [...]