Migration Advisory Committee rules: Why making firms pay £1,000 for new hires is anti-business January 19, 2016 After four months of waiting, recommended changes to the immigration rules relating to skilled workers from outside Europe have been announced by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Should the changes be written into law, they will apply from 6 April this year. The recommendations are the biggest changes to sponsored employees since 2010, yet businesses hardly have [...]
Scottish independence referendum: Better Together campaign fined by Electoral Commission for failing to provide report on its spending January 19, 2016 Having failed to provide a full and complete report on its spending on the Scottish independence referendum, the Better Together campaign has been slapped with a fine by the Electoral Commission. The watchdog gave the Better Together campaign a £2,000 fine as it didn't provide receipts or invoices for £57,000 of expenditure. Bob Posner, director of party and [...]
Boris Johnson just made an announcement in Minecraft to launch the new Games London initiative January 19, 2016 Boris Johnson has never shied away from unexpected ways of doing things. So why should we be surprised the London mayor has chosen to promote the future of London’s gaming sector by turning himself into a Minecraft character? To launch the new initiative Games London, BoJo has appeared in an “in-game press-conference” held within the [...]
EU referendum: Battle commences as the “In” campaign focuses on security and the “Out” campaign remain divided January 19, 2016 It is hotting up. In London, the word on the street is that there are two dates to remember: February 19th and June 23rd. The first is when David Cameron claims a victory in his renegotiation after the make or break European Council meeting; the second is the probable date of the referendum. Eight months [...]
General Election 2015: Unrepresentative samples are to blame for pollsters’ failure to predict victory for the Conservatives January 19, 2016 The failure of pollsters to accurately predict the outcome of the General Election was largely the fault of "unrepresentative" samples, an inquiry has found. A panel of experts set up by the British Polling Council found the methods of sample recruitment used by the polling organisations resulted in systematic over-representation of Labour voters and under-representation [...]
EU referendum: The UK’s property sector is emphatically against the idea of a Brexit January 18, 2016 The UK's property sector is not enthusiastic about the idea, a new poll has shown – with 65 per cent saying leaving the EU would have a negative impact on investment in the sector. No kidding. The poll, by property consultancy Carter Jonas, also found 10 per cent of those surveyed said they would consider relocating [...]
Everything you need to know about why MPs are debating whether to ban Donald Trump from the UK today January 18, 2016 MPs are gearing up to debate whether or not Donald Trump should be banned from the UK today. The debate follows a petition to have the controversial mogul and US presidential candidate banned from the UK, which garnered over 560,000 signatures in a matter of days. When is the debate happening? The petition to ban [...]
Londoners don’t want students to be classed as immigrants January 17, 2016 The majority of Londoners don’t see foreign students studying in London as immigrants although they are counted as such in official immigration numbers, a survey for lobby group London First has found. Polling, revealed exclusively by City A.M., shows 17 per cent of people think of non-EU international students studying in Britain as immigrants, while only [...]
Alex Salmond wants to ban Donald Trump from the UK and Jeremy Corbyn wants to take him to a mosque ahead of petition debate in parliament January 17, 2016 The war of words between the former First Minister Alex Salmond and wannabe President Donald Trump escalated today, after the Scottish MP backed calls to ban the billionaire from the UK over anti-Muslim comments. The two are unlikely to become the best of friends – Trump labelled Salmond a "has-been" with an "over-inflated ego" before Christmas in [...]
Davos 2016: Who’s who at the World Economic Forum (and who’s notably absent) – from Leonardo DiCaprio to Travis Kalanick and George Osborne January 17, 2016 If it seems like Davos reads like a who’s who of the world elite, you wouldn’t be wrong. On the Swiss slopes, the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum which kicks off this Wednesday, brings together the world’s biggest politicians, business leaders and a sprinkling of celebrities to liven things up too Leonardo DiCaprio is the [...]