Editor’s notes: Forget about Murdoch, media dominance is now an online battle December 16, 2016 For a while this week it felt as if we’d slipped back five years, as Ed Miliband and Vince Cable dusted down their criticisms of Rupert Murdoch. 21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky saw the former Labour leader take to Twitter like a student protester. “Do we want Rupert Murdoch controlling even more of [the] [...]
Tata leadership race must show open mind December 16, 2016 Trump, May, Modi: protectionism takes many forms, and has many masters (and mistresses). In India, a curious case of economic nationalism is quietly unfolding at the country’s most significant conglomerate. In one sense, that’s unsurprising – India’s track record of foreign ownership restrictions in industries like insurance, banking and technology, is a lengthy one. But at [...]
It’d be a Christmas miracle if the chancellor delivered on these three festive reforms December 16, 2016 While Philip Hammond hasn’t been chancellor for long, he has already adopted George Osborne’s style of giveaways – the gifts aren’t simply bought by taxpayers, but are often funded by taxpayer money that hasn’t been raised yet. Of course, this kind of gift-giving rarely places the goods in the hands of the people who need [...]
Don’t believe the unions’ bogus claims against Southern Rail December 16, 2016 Passengers on Southern Rail are this week enduring disruption to their services of a kind not seen anywhere on the railway for a generation. From broadcasters to bishops, everyone has been having their say on the industrial dispute about whether drivers rather than guards should be responsible for closing doors on trains that has been [...]
A £50bn Brexit bill could face the UK before it leaves the EU, according to the European Commission’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier December 15, 2016 It could cost the UK £50bn to extricate itself from the EU if the European Commission’s chief negotiator has his way. Michel Barnier has indicated to multiple parties in the negotiation that the UK will have to pay between €50bn and €60bn (£50bn) in money still owed from earlier commitments, according to reports by Sky [...]
Brexit negotiations will take 10 years says UK ambassador to the EU as Theresa May is shut out of European Council summit dinner December 15, 2016 Trade negotiations over Brexit could take as much as 10 years, according to the UK’s ambassador to the EU. Sir Ivan Rogers privately briefed government officials that European diplomats believed a deal would not be completed until the middle of the next decade, according to the BBC. At a meeting of the European Council summit [...]
Government blocks sale of rare Wedgwood vase December 15, 2016 The culture minister has blocked a rare Josiah Wedgwood vase from leaving the country. The “Basaltes” vase was sold in July to an unnamed bidder for almost half a million pounds. However, it is hoped that an alternative buyer from the UK can raise an equivalent amount of £482,500 (plus £16,500 VAT) in order to [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan invests £220m in the capital’s boroughs including central London’s first new park for 100 years December 15, 2016 The mayor has announced he's plugging £220m into the capital's boroughs to boost transport, town centre and public space developments. Sadiq Khan said the funding will be used by boroughs across the capital for a range of projects, with initiatives to encourage walking and cycling, reduce road dangers and improve air quality. Among the projects to receive [...]
MPs slam government for failing to grasp “the serious impacts of poor air quality” on British people December 15, 2016 MPs aren't impressed with the government's progress on air quality. A letter from Conservative MP Neil Parish, chairman of the Commons environment committee, sent yesterday to environment minister Therese Coffey, said the government had not been convinced it was doing enough to tackle the problem. "We are extremely concerned that, despite the courts twice rejecting its [...]
Financial services sector is a “golden goose” for tax revenue as top UK firms contribute £82.3bn December 15, 2016 The tax contribution of the largest UK companies to the economy is now £82.3bn, according to a study published today. A survey of the total tax contribution of the 100 Group shows that the amount either paid or generated by the biggest UK firms has gone up by 2.2 per cent from last year’s total [...]