The Lib Dems are predicting a narrow win over Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park tomorrow November 30, 2016 The Lib Dems think they will snatch a narrow win in Richmond Park tomorrow and dethrone the former Tory MP Zac Goldsmith. Polls open in South West London tomorrow, and Goldsmith had been regarded as favourite, but bookmakers are also cutting the odds on victory for Tim Farron's party. And internal modelling by the Lib Dems is now predicting [...]
Jeremy Corbyn left red-faced after mixing up his economic bodies at PMQs November 30, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn has been mocked in the House of Commons after the Labour leader after mixing up two very different economic bodies at Prime Minister's Questions. Corbyn had been seeking to needle the Theresa May over lowered economic forecasts at the time of last week's Autumn Statement, but it all went wrong when May noted [...]
Bookies are cutting the odds of a shock Zac Goldsmith defeat in tomorrow’s Richmond Park by-election November 30, 2016 The odds of a Lib Dem victory in tomorrow's Richmond Park by-election are tumbling with just hours to go before polls open. Former Tory MP Zac Goldsmith is considered the favourite to win when polls open in Richmond Park tomorrow, but bookies say support for Lib Dem former accountant Sarah Olney is growing, particularly within [...]
It’s official: Donald Trump is stepping down from his businesses to make America great again November 30, 2016 Well that's a relief. Donald Trump has announced he's not going to try to run a multi-billion dollar corporation at the same time as leading the free world. Phew. In a series of tweets, the President-elect said he will hold a news conference with his children on 15 December to announce that he will leave [...]
Carmakers warn losing single market access in Brexit deal will ramp up car prices November 30, 2016 The boss of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned leaving the single market could jack up car prices. Gareth Jones said the car industry will be hit with "billions" in tariffs should Britain not sign a deal keeping the sector within a tariff-free EU trading bloc. It will add at least £2.7bn [...]
The £5 fuss: Now even the vegans are gunning for Carney November 30, 2016 Mark Carney has had a pretty tumultuous year. His critics have lined up to attack him for politicising his office during the referendum campaign while his supporters credit him with being the only the grownup left standing in the wake of it. He has survived bruising encounters with eurosceptic MPs on the Treasury Select Committee. Jacob [...]
As the photograph of a Tory aide’s memo invites even more speculation, has the government’s silence on Brexit now become untenable? November 30, 2016 Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat by-election candidate for Richmond Park, says Yes. The British people have no cake and they certainly aren’t eating it. The scribbled notes spied in Downing Street – the public’s only way of learning what ministers’ plan is on the most important question facing the country in a generation – show that [...]
We should not be telling little girls that Americans hate women November 30, 2016 Donald Trump’s victory proves that America hates women”, declared a reputable news source shortly after the US election. America is big, and it does not think as one. Some men hate women and voted for Trump to preserve the patriarchy – but most fell for his promise of quick economic fixes. Some women did not [...]
UK universities need a bespoke Brexit deal with flexibility on freedom of movement for EU students November 30, 2016 The fate of British universities – their research, their European staff and their students – has become a major issue following the EU referendum. Under the home secretary’s proposals, they would be classed as employers with a large number of non-UK staff – 17 per cent of teaching and research posts are occupied by EU [...]
Four-year folly: The Office for Budget Responsibility shouldn’t be expected to forecast so far into the future November 30, 2016 Economic forecasts have become a political hot potato. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) predictions, presented as part of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, have put the government under pressure. The OBR has revised down its forecast for GDP growth over the next four years by 1.4 percentage points. The real controversy is that their gloomy projections [...]