Downing St hires top IoD policy wonk Jimmy McLoughlin August 15, 2016 Downing St has hired top policy wonk Jimmy McLoughlin from the Institute of Directors to take on a business relations role. McLoughlin has been deputy head of policy and head of external relations at the IoD since 2014, leading on areas such as entrepreneurship and the digital economy. It is understood he was given leave [...]
SNP accused of power grab after junior MSPs awarded top jobs August 15, 2016 The Scottish National Party has been accused of a power grab after a number of top jobs were given to MSPs. The MSPs have been awarded jobs as aids to ministers that they are meant to be holding to account. Education secretary John Swinney's assistant, Jenny Gilruth, was given her role after she was put forward to [...]
Labour grandee Margaret Beckett says factions of Jeremy Corbyn supporters are happy to see party split August 15, 2016 A Labour grandee has said that some elements supporting Jeremy Corbyn would be happy to see the Labour party split after the leadership election. Margaret Beckett has said that a number of people joining the Labour party are joining to support Jeremy Corbyn in a kind of "members club", rather than because they support the [...]
Whitehall needs to get its Brexit act together August 15, 2016 The official website of Chevening House, the country residence of the foreign secretary, still lists Philip Hammond as the present occupier. That they have yet to update the site since Boris Johnson took over as the UK’s most senior diplomat is perhaps a reflection of the confusion caused by Theresa May (somewhat mischievously) asking Boris to [...]
Business and entrepreneurs pile pressure on Sadiq over Uber red tape August 14, 2016 Business groups and entrepreneurs have piled the pressure on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, warning that new rules clamping down on Uber will stifle innovation in the capital and its multi-billion pound digital economy as he attempts brand the city "open for business". New rules have drawn the ire of business groups and tech entrepreneurs, who labelled them a backwards step that threatened the [...]
City groups want “the right Brexit deal – not the quickest one” August 14, 2016 City groups are unconcerned by the prospect of a delayed departure from the European Union, urging the government to get the terms of Brexit right for business. “Brexit is permanent, so what difference does a few months’ delay at the beginning of the process make?” an Institute of Directors spokesperson told City A.M. after it [...]
No Labour leadership vote for new members after legal challenge dropped August 14, 2016 The Labour Party has ultimately triumphed in its bid to ban thousands of new members from voting in the leadership election after a legal case was dropped The court of appeal on Friday overturned a previous decision giving the go-ahead to 130,000 new members to vote in the upcoming election which will pit leader Jeremy Corbyn against newcomer Owen Smith. [...]
Deliveroo drives into pay row with warning on minimum wage August 14, 2016 Deliveroo has ridden into trouble with changes to the way it pays delivery drivers, prompting a warning from the government over adhering to rules on the minimum wage. Drivers last week took to the London streets to protest the changes, which they argue leaves them being paid less than the £7.20 National Living Wage (NLW), and which the [...]
Who tops the list of Britain’s 10 most popular politicians? August 14, 2016 Just one month into her tenure as Prime Minister, Theresa May has emerged as Britain’s most popular politician, stealing the top spot from Boris Johnson who has suffered a fall from grace in the wake of the EU referendum. May won favour with Conservative MPs following David Cameron’s resignation on 24 June and has since risen in [...]
We might be waiting a while longer for Article 50 to be triggered August 14, 2016 Anyone waiting for the government to fire the starting gun on Article 50 – the official trigger that will kick off crucial negotiations between Britain and the EU – get ready to wait a little longer. We already know it won't be triggered this year, but all eyes have been on the start of 2017 for triggering [...]