Shadow chancellor John McDonnell just said he’d back a rise in the 40p rate tax threshold for higher earners November 20, 2016 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he backs raising the threshold on 40p tax for higher earners. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, McDonnell said: "It looks as though the threshold will be increased by the government on Wednesday and we would support that." Marr suggested it was a tax giveaway, to which McDonnell said: "It is, but [...]
Businesses are “100 per cent committed” to making the best of Brexit but need clarity from government, says CBI November 20, 2016 Businesses want to make the best of Brexit, but will need more clarity from government, according to the CBI. Speaking tomorrow at the CBI's annual conference, president Paul Drechsler is expected to say that firms are "100 per cent committed" to making the best of Brexit", but to do that, "government and business must do more [...]
Donald Trump will be invited to meet the Queen at Windsor next year November 20, 2016 What a difference a few months makes, eh? In January, MPs were debating banning Donald Trump from the UK, now apparently he'll be invited to meet the Queen next year. The President-elect will be invited to meet the Queen, aka ministers' "secret weapon" to try and really cement the UK's special relationship with America. Read more: Donald [...]
Brexit: 60 Conservative MPs including Michael Gove and Iain Duncan Smith call on Theresa May to pull UK from Single Market November 19, 2016 A group of 60 pro-Brexit Conservative MPs has demanded Prime Minister Theresa May pulls Britain out of the Single Market. The ministers, which include seven former cabinet members, have put their names to the "hard Brexit" demand through the Sunday Telegraph, amid concerns that Remain figures in the cabinet are watering down the government's Brexit position. [...]
Senior Tories urge Theresa May to drop Brexit appeal case November 19, 2016 Senior Conservative Party members have urged Theresa May to abandon an appeal against the Brexit High Court ruling that means MPs must vote on the UK leaving the EU. The former head of the government's Brexit unit, Oliver Letwin, and two former justice officers have said the case should not go to the Supreme Court and that [...]
US President-elect Donald Trump agrees to pay $25m to settle Trump University lawsuits November 19, 2016 US-President elect Donald Trump has reached an agreement to settle lawsuits in connection with his Trump University for $25m (£20m). If the settlement, announced yesterday, is approved, it will put to rest fraud allegations brought forward by former students at the now-defunct for-profit education company that offered real estate training from 2005 to 2010. New York attorney [...]
There are now 50/1 odds Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones will be the UK’s next Prime Minister November 19, 2016 If British politics follows the US example, allowing an outsider businessman to ascend to the helm of the nation, Peter Jones could soon be swapping the set of Dragons' Den for Number 10. There are now 50/1 odds that Jones will be the UK's next Prime Minister, according to online betting site BetStars, after the entrepreneur [...]
US President-elect Donald Trump nears $20m settlement in Trump University fraud case November 18, 2016 US President-elect Donald Trump is reported to be close to agreeing a settlement of around $20m (£16.2m) in fraud lawsuits connected with Trump University. Lawyers for Trump are dealing with cases brought by former students who claim they were lured by false promises into paying up to $35,000 to learn Trump's real estate investing "secrets" from [...]
Autumn Statement sell-offs? Land Registry, Lloyds, Channel 4 and more could be on the privatisation agenda November 18, 2016 Last year was a record for sell-offs of publicly-owned assets, with David Cameron and George Osborne’s government making more than £26bn from stakes in Royal Mail, Eurostar, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and other companies. Next week’s Autumn Statement should provide an insight into how far Theresa May and Philip Hammond will seek to continue [...]
Editor’s notes: Whatever your view of him, Farage should sit in the House of Lords November 18, 2016 There are many ways to get a peerage these days. You could conduct a white-wash inquiry into the Labour party’s problem with emboldened anti-semites; you could bounce from quango to quango until a seat on the red benches is the next logical step; you could donate to a political party; or you could have the [...]