EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron warns ministers not to “undermine” government’s negotiations with Brussels as he spells out rules for free vote January 11, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has warned ministers not to "undermine" his efforts to reform the European Union. In a letter to ministers released this afternoon by Downing Street, Cameron repeated his commitment to allow ministers to have a "free vote", and campaign with their conscience in the run-up to the EU referendum. But Cameron was clear [...]
Labour: Karl Turner appointed shadow attorney general after Catherine McKinnell resigns citing internal conflict within the party January 11, 2016 UPDATE: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has named Karl Turner shadow attorney general, just hours after Catherine McKinnell resigned the post. McKinnell's resignation was just the latest setback for Labour, which has suffered a spate of resignations following Corbyn's recent reshuffle. In a letter to Corbyn published earlier today, McKinnell said: "I have found it increasingly difficult [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron commits £70m to a new scheme to encourage business people to mentor teenagers January 11, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has said that he wants a "new generation of high-flying mentors" from Britain's leading businesses to mentor at-risk teenagers. In a speech in north London today, Cameron announced a new national campaign targeting businesses, charities and public sector employers to recruit "high-quality" mentors to "help struggling teens fulfil their potential and improve their [...]
European Commission: Belgium’s €700m dollar tax breaks were illegal January 11, 2016 The European Commission today ruled that Belgium's tax scheme, which handed out tax breaks worth around €700m (£522m) to companies, was illegal. Belgium's tax scheme favoured multinational companies by exempting them from paying tax on so-called excess profits. The Belgian tax authorities could lower the tax base by deducting excess profit for certain companies, on the basis that a [...]
Top Tory tells business: Wake up to threat of cyber crime January 11, 2016 Businesses should be doing more to defend themselves from cyber security threats, a former defence secretary will warn today. In a speech to the The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), influential Conservative Dr Liam Fox will call for laws forcing companies to disclose hacks to shareholders, as well as banning any company that doesn’t meet [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says Labour has a strong shadow cabinet following resignations and movement of MPs who disagree with him January 11, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has defended his reshuffle against claims that he abandoned his so-called new politics and instead returned to the old politics of splits and resignations. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Corbyn said a reshuffle is never easy and there's never a good time to do it, but insisted that "we have [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron pledges more money for mental health care January 11, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron will pledge more money for mental health services in England, in a speech in which he is expected to urge a "more mature" conversation on mental conditions. Cameron will say people should be be frightened of mental illness. "As a country, we need to be far more mature about this. Less hushed tones, less whispering; [...]
The Labour party’s income could be about to fall by £6m thanks to the Trade Union Bill January 11, 2016 Legal changes to the way in which it is given money by unions have sparked fears in the Labour party that its annual income could drop by £6m. Documents released to the Guardian showed how the legal changes proposed by the Conservatives could make it impossible for Labour to maintain its current structure, staffing and offices. Read [...]
President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address will be streamed on Amazon, YouTube, and the White House’s own website January 11, 2016 US president Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address will be available to stream on Amazon Video, YouTube, and the White House’s own website. The move comes in response to dwindling figures for the annual speech; while 52m people tuned in to Obama’s first address to Congress in 2009, figures for last year's speech slumped [...]
Kyriakos Mitsotakis clinches victory in Greek opposition leadership election January 10, 2016 The Greek opposition party New Democracy tonight elected underdog Kyriakos Mitsotakis as its leader. With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Mitsotakis, son of former Greek Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis, had secured 51.6 per cent of the vote. His opponent, Evangelos Meimarakis, has called him to congratulate him. Mitsotakis had lost the first round of voting in December, when [...]