Rival Green Investment Bank bidder condemns government’s “unfortunate” choice of Macquarie as preferred bidder February 24, 2017 The chief executive of a rival bidder in the Green Investment Bank privatisation has condemned the government for making an “unfortunate” choice of preferred bidder and stubbornly sticking with it. The government is in exclusive talks with Australian investment bank Macquarie as it seeks to sell-off the £2bn-valued Green Investment Bank. The deal has come [...]
Today’s Copeland result and Lords energy report both highlight the ticking nuclear time-bomb in UK politics February 24, 2017 This morning’s Tory victory sweep in the Labour stronghold of nuclear heartland Copeland has coincided with the publication of a Lords report criticising the government’s nuclear energy policy. The nuclear question could not have been more central to yesterday's by-election contest in the heart of Britain’s West Cumbrian ‘energy coast’. 10,000 people are already directly [...]
Nigel Farage says he will never forgive media coverage of Ukip February 24, 2017 Nigel Farage has said he will never forgive the British media for having “demonised” Ukip and made him “frightened” to leave his home. The former Ukip leader accused sections of the press of using members with controversial views in order to discredit the party as a whole. Read more: Nigel Farage is staying away from [...]
Morgan Stanley may move 300 UK jobs to Frankfurt or Dublin February 24, 2017 American investment bank Morgan Stanley could move 300 jobs out of the United Kingdom after Brexit and is already looking for new office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, according to reports. Plans are underway for an initial transfer of jobs to one of the two cities Bloomberg said. A spokesman for Morgan Stanley told City AM: “Our [...]
Electoral Commission opens investigation into spending of EU referendum campaigns February 24, 2017 The UK Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into the spending of the Leave and Remain campaigns ahead of last year's EU referendum. Figures released last year showed a 52 to 48 per cent split between Leave and Remain in EU referendum donations. The Electoral Commission today published details of more than £27m of campaign spending, [...]
Theresa May’s Conservatives have secured an historic victory in the Copeland by-election February 24, 2017 Theresa May’s Conservatives have become the first governing party to gain a seat at a by-election for 35 years, snatching the constituency of Copeland in an embarrassing defeat for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party. Conservative candidate Trudy Harrison won the race to replace Labour MP Jamie Reed, who stepped down late last year to work at the [...]
Britain is an oasis of calm amid Europe’s political chaos February 24, 2017 In a fit of pique at the Brexit vote, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told MEPs last July that Britain had “collapsed – politically, economically, monetarily and constitutionally”. Embarrassingly for him, events have proven otherwise, with the UK posting the strongest growth in the G7 in the final quarter of 2016, the Bank of England still [...]
Government intervention causes Britain’s energy sector to fail to deliver low costs and ensure supply, a report by the House of Lords argues February 24, 2017 The government has allowed the UK's energy market to become "opaque, complicated and uncompetitive", a report to be published today argues. Written by the House of Lords' committee on economic affairs, the report says Britain's energy market fails in two key areas: delivering low costs to customers and ensuring the country has sufficient supplies. The security of [...]
Be under no illusions: The National Living Wage will cost jobs February 24, 2017 Imagine that you didn’t know how cold weather and turning on the heat affected the temperature of a room. You’d watch the boiler burn more or less gas, and you’d watch the weather get colder and hotter, but if the thermostat and central heating were working properly there’d be no change in the temperature of [...]
The civil service is ripe for disruption – and Brexit could well be the catalyst February 24, 2017 We are approaching a serious crisis in the relationship between ministers, advisers and civil servants. While governments have often grumbled about the quality of the civil service, there are signs political discontent is growing. Why? The stakes are higher. The challenges posed by Brexit dwarf anything we have seen before. And so the relationship between [...]