London’s Tory MPs band together to battle business rate plans February 21, 2017 London's Tory MPs are banding together to propose reforms to business rates as the pressure builds on chancellor Philip Hammond. Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond told City A.M. that MPs were reflecting the fact that capital business faces some of the steepest increases in the country. “The pressure is building at a time when it's very difficult [...]
Brazen French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron tells London – I want your banks to move to Paris after Brexit February 21, 2017 French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to lure banks from London to Paris in the aftermath of Brexit, striking a bullish and undiplomatic tone during a visit to Downing Street. "I was very happy to see that some academics and researchers in the UK because of Brexit are considering coming to France [...]
Stoke-on-Trent by-election: All you need to know about the vote on 23 February February 21, 2017 There's a hotly contested by-election looming in Stoke-on-Trent, with Labour facing a crucial battle against Ukip. With the vote fast approaching, we've rounded up all the vital information. When is the by-election taking place? Voters will go to the ballots on Thursday 23 February. Polls will open at 7AM and close at 10PM. Who's in [...]
Coup de grace: Are investors misjudging Marine Le Pen’s chances of victory in France’s presidential election? February 21, 2017 "Fool me twice, shame on me,” goes the idiom. Caught out by shock victories for the Leave and Trump campaigns in 2016, investors are determined not to let political risk get the better of them a third time as the French presidential election approaches this spring. Since the beginning of the year, French government bonds [...]
Trump has named Lt Gen HR McMaster as his new national security adviser after Mike Flynn lasted just three weeks in the job February 21, 2017 President Donald Trump has named Lt General HR McMaster as national security adviser, his replacement for Michael Flynn. Trump called McMaster "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience". His appointment comes after retired vice admiral Robert Harward turned down the role and David Petraeus, former general and CIA chief, was removed from the running. [...]
Spending sprees and strikes prove Sadiq Khan is using London as a springboard for his real ambitions: the Labour leadership February 21, 2017 A hypothesis: Sadiq Khan plans to cut and run after a single four-year term as mayor of London. In the meantime he will say and do anything he can to boost his popularity, regardless of the consequences. His motivation? To present himself as a quick-fix, ready-made alternative to the current Labour leader. Khan’s supporters may [...]
As rival Martin Schulz overtakes Angela Merkel in the polls, is the Queen of Europe about to lose her crown? February 21, 2017 Daniel Hamilton, a senior director at FTI Consulting, says Yes. The last year has been a torrid one for Angela Merkel. September’s elections won’t offer her any respite. Merkel has traditionally been lucky with her hapless Social Democrat (SPD) opponents. This year’s foe, former European Parliament president Martin Schulz, is different. Cunning and commanding, Schulz’s [...]
Greece must pursue urgent reform to tackle “explosive” debt levels February 20, 2017 GREECE will continue negotiations on how to cut its staggering debts after Eurogroup officials agreed yesterday to a new summit in March. The country needs access to the latest tranche of its €86bn bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU in order to meet debt repayments. At the core of yesterday’s announcement [...]
Volkswagen has fixed 470,000 of the UK cars hit by the emissions scandal February 20, 2017 German carmaker Volkswagen has fixed 470,000 cars out of 1.2m affected by the diesel emissions scandal in Britain, the firm’s UK managing director told MPs yesterday. Giving evidence to the Transport Select Committee, Paul Willis was grilled by MPs, with some angry that the firm has not been fined in Britain and that motorists have not [...]
Donald Trump’s state visit is “entirely appropriate” says foreign office minister February 20, 2017 Foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan has shot down demands to scrap the state visit of US President Donald Trump, telling MPs the honour is “entirely appropriate”. MPs today debated Trump's trip after 1.8m people signed a petition calling for the state visit to be scrapped, with questions raised about the timing of the invitation from [...]