Thinking smaller: Why Tunisian olives hold the key to the UK’s post-Brexit trading success January 11, 2017 On reaching the Americas in 1519, Hernán Cortés burnt his ships. Pointing up the beach he told his astonished crew that, since retreating to Europe was no longer an option, the only way was forward to the possibilities he anticipated in the New World. Britain now stands on the brink of its Cortés moment. When Article [...]
Here are the top 10 excuses for firms to dodge paying staff the minimum wage January 11, 2017 Employers have refused to pay the minimum wage because staff only make tea, aren't good workers or think of themselves as self-employed, the government has revealed. A bizarre list of excuses from employers has been revealed by the government ahead of a £1.7m marketing blitz on the minimum wage. The top ten list also includes one employer [...]
Corbyn’s relaunch shambles plunges Labour into fresh chaos January 11, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn plunged his party into fresh chaos yesterday with a series of U-turns on his newly-minted plans to tackle high pay and deal with freedom of movement after Brexit. In a media blitz designed to relaunch his leadership yesterday morning, Corbyn had suggested the party would implement a “maximum earnings limit”, and [...]
As he rows back on free movement and flirts with wage cap proposals, will Jeremy Corbyn last the year? January 10, 2017 Rupert Myers, barrister and writer, says Yes. Within the Westminster bubble, the Jeremy Corbyn relaunch went about as well as the tragic lift off of the space shuttle Challenger. Corbyn’s muddle on free movement and the Single Market is likely to have infuriated even his die-hard fans. Is he for free movement? Is he for [...]
Jeremy Corbyn moots 20:1 pay ratio limit for government contractors January 10, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has dramatically shifted his proposals for an earnings cap. Speaking in Peterborough today, Corbyn offered two new rules for contractors, alongside proposals for broader reforms. Just hours after setting out his desire for "a maximum earning limit", the Labour leader said he would rather tackle pay ratios in the hopes of raising [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s salary cap is “bananas” says free marketeers January 10, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been blasted by free-market think tanks for his suggestion of a maximum wage in the UK. Corbyn made the suggestion on Radio 4 this morning, although he did not specify what the maximum salary allowed in the UK should be. The Labour leader claimed that income disparity in the UK [...]
Jeremy Corbyn says he’d join Southern rail picket line as next wave of industrial action puts the brakes on services January 10, 2017 Jeremy Corbyn has announced he'd join a Southern rail picket line, saying he felt long-suffering commuters would support his position. Speaking on Radio Four's Today programme, the Labour leader said he would stand in solidarity with those taking industrial action. "Yes I would, because I think Southern rail have behaved in a terrible manner, and [...]
No, Jeremy Corbyn – income disparity is not getting worse in the UK January 10, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has proposed putting a cap on earnings in the UK, saying that the income disparity in the UK "is getting worse". Speaking on the BBC Today programme, Corbyn said: "I can't put a figure on it and I don't want to at the moment. Read more: Corbyn's only hope of power may be [...]
Why solving the country’s housing crisis means backing – not battering – landlords January 10, 2017 Politics is a strange world, and the year’s events (Trump, Brexit and elsewhere in Europe) are topsy-turvy. But I still find it strange that Britain’s best and most effective form of housing provision, the private rented sector, is coming under such consistent attack. Policies such as changes to the way landlords are taxed, the stamp duty [...]
Should we rule out a trade war between China and the US? January 10, 2017 Andy Rothman, investment strategist at Matthews Asia, says Yes. Donald Trump is very unlikely to implement the 45 per cent across-the-board tariff on imports from China that he proposed in an interview last year. US law permits the President to make only an emergency declaration of 15 per cent tariffs for up to five months, and [...]