What businesses can expect from Theresa May’s self-consciously pragmatic Conservatism August 4, 2016 From what retailers sold in their shops to their advertising, David Cameron seemed to have a view on everything businesses did. While they might not have approved of it all, businesses understood what he was thinking. Not so with Theresa May. May intervenes in public debate sporadically, on bigger issues and with more focus. She [...]
Treasury committee chair Andrew Tyrie has warned government crowdfunding incentives may need to be reconsidered August 4, 2016 Senior Tory Andrew Tyrie has warned that tax incentives to invest in peer-to-peer lending may be dragging consumers towards inappropriate products. Treasury Select Committee chair Tyrie wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority in June to call for closer scrutiny of the market. And in a letter published yesterday, outgoing FCA boss Tracey McDermott admitted the [...]
Jeremy Corbyn has revealed plans for a huge national spending splurge, funded by “expanding the economy” and tackling tax avoidance August 4, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has unveiled plans for a huge national spending splurge, topped by the construction of a million new homes. Asked today how he would fund the work, Corbyn said money would be generated by "expanding the economy" and tackling tax avoidance. Little detail has been revealed on the plans, but the current Labour [...]
John McDonnell has accused Owen Smith supporters of threatening to divide Labour as Jeremy Corbyn prepares to reveal 10 pledges to “rebuild” Britain August 4, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn's right hand man has accused supporters of Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith of threatening to split the party. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell claimed that backers of Smith are warning the party will inevitably divide if Corbyn retains the party leadership. Speaking on BBC radio earlier, McDonnell called on Smith to denounce a split. [...]
Outside the UK, only one country thinks Brexit was the right decision for Britain, according to pollsters August 4, 2016 Just one out of 16 countries believes that the Brexit vote was the right decision for the country, according to new polling figures. Ipsos Mori last month quizzed 12,525 people online across nine European and seven non-European countries, but found that in only one did a majority support the Brexit verdict – Russia. 54 per [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne is responsible for turning the minimum wage into a political football August 4, 2016 Last summer, then-chancellor George Osborne unveiled his first post-coalition, true-blue Budget – and with it, a big jump in the minimum wage. This somewhat confusing re-brand saw the minimum wage become the “National Living Wage” (NLW), which Osborne decided would jump from £6.50 an hour to £7.20, and keep rising to £9 in time for the [...]
A rate cut could wipe £1.4bn off operating profits at the UK’s top banks August 4, 2016 Profits will be decimated at the UK’s top banks if, as widely expected, the Bank of England cuts interest rates to a historic low of 0.25 per cent today. New analysis by the banking practice of consultants Simon-Kucher and Partners predicts that lower rates would wipe £1.4bn off the operating profits at the UK’s top [...]
One in three London civil servants should be relocated outside the M25 to boost productivity August 4, 2016 One in three civil servants should be relocated outside London to boost productivity in public services, according to new report from think tank Policy Exchange, which comes as HMRC signs a lease for new offices in Croydon. According to Policy Exchange, roughly 25,000 civil servants could leave the capital in a bid to deliver more [...]
The UK has been “a difficult friend” to efforts to clamp down on tax evasion, Margaret Hodge has claimed August 4, 2016 International efforts to tackle tax evasion amount to little more than a sticking plaster, according to MPs, with the UK taking the blame. A new report from an all-party group chaired by Labour’s Margaret Hodge has slammed efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to tackle corporate tax planning. In particular, the group [...]
New polling figures have illustrated exactly why a split could be an electoral disaster for Labour August 3, 2016 New figures from YouGov have lain bare the dangers of a party split for Labour, with just over six weeks left in its leadership contest. Labour will choose between incumbent Jeremy Corbyn and challenger Owen Smith on September 24, but speculation has been rife that the party could split if Corbyn remains as leader. Labour [...]