David Cameron’s EU renegotiations were “Mickey Mouse” according to an international trade lawyer (who also happens to be his former deputy’s wife) June 14, 2016 David Cameron's renegotiations with the EU have been slammed as “Mickey Mouse” by Spanish international trade lawyer Miriam Gonzalez Durantez. Durantez, who is married to former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said the UK is “sleepwalking towards disaster” in next week's Brexit vote, and called on the UK to commit to further European reform. Speaking at [...]
CMA takes over investigation of energy price comparison websites June 14, 2016 Britain's competition watchdog is looking into whether energy tariff comparison websites' use of paid-for online search advertising breached competition law. The investigation was passed onto the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) by energy regulator Ofgem after it found employees staff and representatives had previously expressed concerns to some of the parties under investigation. The CMA expects to make a decision [...]
Metlife: This is how much direct and indirect tax the average Brit pays per hour June 14, 2016 Brits could be forking out a lot more in taxes than they realise. Employees are paying an average £1.25 an hour in direct and indirect tax, according to a new analysis by life insurance firm MetLife. Read more: It’s Tax Freedom Day – it may be the latest it’s been since 2001 but you’re finally earning for yourself And [...]
EU referendum betting odds: A Brexit vote has just reached its highest probability since March June 14, 2016 If you're planning on betting on a Brexit, now's the time to do it, after bookie Betfair put the chances of a Leave vote at 40 per cent, with odds of 6/4. Meanwhile, the probability of a Remain vote fell to 60 per cent, giving it odds of 4/6. That figure is the highest since it [...]
Smaller pension funds to suffer most if there’s a Brexit June 14, 2016 Mercer has warned smaller pension funds are most at risk from potential market volatility in the wake of Brexit. It comes as fears about the financial market impact if the UK votes to leave the EU next week sent the CBOE Market Volatility Index (Vix), aka the Fear Index, to its highest level in three months yesterday. Read [...]
The Sun backs Brexit, asks its readers to “beLEAVE in Britain” June 13, 2016 In a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, The Sun has come out in favour of Brexit in the upcoming EU referendum. The newspaper's front page on Tuesday carries an editorial backing the Leave campaign: “We urge our readers to beLEAVE in Britain and vote to quit the EU on June 23”. The influential [...]
The Brexit camp has attacked two BT bosses after they wrote to staff emphasising their fears around a Brexit vote June 13, 2016 A former trade minister has savaged BT's leadership after it issued a firm-wide memo this week supporting the UK's EU membership. BT chairman Sir Mike Rake and chief executive Gavin Patterson teamed with the Communications Workers Union, and Prospect to issue the note, which sought to highlight their concerns, without explicitly encouraging staff to vote Remain in [...]
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been attacked by Labour’s own camp of Brexiteers June 13, 2016 Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been slammed by Labour's leave campaigners after intervening in the Brexit debate. Speaking at De Montfort University in Leicester, Brown said today that Britain “should be a leader in Europe and not leaving it”. "Britain is at its best when it is outward-looking, engaged, welcoming, internationally minded, thinking of [...]
Skills minister says Brexit vote could kill off the apprenticeship levy June 13, 2016 Skills minister Nick Boles has suggested the incoming apprenticeship levy could be put on ice if the UK votes to leave the EU. The levy was designed to generate funding for 3m apprenticeships, but has faced opposition from business groups including the Confederation of British Industry since it was first announced in the July 2015 budget. [...]
A new ICM poll shows a growing lead for Leave campaigners ahead of next week’s EU referendum June 13, 2016 The latest poll figures show support for leaving the EU is growing amongst the British voting public with figures from a pair of ICM polls increasing Brexit's lead to six points. Figures from ICM show a 53 per cent now back Brexit, compared to 47 per cent for Remain, with the lead mirrored across both online and [...]