Government promises of “fiscal neutrality” are a red herring: Changes to business rates are going to hurt firms November 18, 2015 Last week, Britain’s biggest high-street retailers publicly urged the government to reform its business rates regime ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement. Many find the current system complicated, unfair to small business and counterproductive to UK growth. Calls for reform have now reached fever-pitch. The government has pledged that any reforms to the current business [...]
PMQs today: Prime Minister David Cameron says UK must go after IS wherever it is for stability in the Middle East November 18, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron today beefed up his rhetoric on the need for military action in Syria, saying that achieving stability in the Middle East requires "taking action against ISIL wherever it is". Read more: Cameron says there is a "compelling case" for military action in Syria Responding to a question by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who [...]
Energy secretary Amber Rudd: UK’s coal-fired power stations “will close by 2025” November 18, 2015 Energy secretary Amber Rudd has announced plans to close the last of the UK's unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025. In a statement this morning, she said a consultation to scrap coal-fired power stations altogether, and restrict their use by 2023, will begin early next year. "It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: British Chambers of Commerce wants cuts for tax admin costs November 18, 2015 A leading business group has written to ministers asking for new measures to cut the costs of tax administration in next week’s Autumn Statement. In an open letter to cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin and business secretary Sajid Javid, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that the cost of complying with tax requirements has [...]
Green Party left red faced after accusing oil firm of buying from ISIS November 17, 2015 The Green Party has been forced into a humiliating climbdown after its foreign affairs spokesperson wrongly claimed that a company backed by City financier Nat Rothschild has been funding terrorists. Tony Clarke, the Green Party's foreign affairs spokesperson and a former Labour MP for Northampton South, had accused Genel Energy, a London-listed oil producer, of [...]
Green Party left red faced after accusing oil firm of buying from ISIS November 17, 2015 The Green Party has been forced into a humiliating climbdown after its foreign affairs spokesperson wrongly claimed that a company backed by City financier Nat Rothschild has been funding terrorists. Tony Clarke, the Green Party's foreign affairs spokesperson and a former Labour MP for Northampton South, had accused Genel Energy, a London-listed oil producer, of buying [...]
Chancellor George Osborne says government will spend another £1.9bn on cyber security November 17, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the government will almost double its investment in cyber security initiatives over the next five years, spending an additional £1.9bn. Speaking to intelligence officials at GCHQ this morning, Osborne said that while British authorities are already monitoring cyber threats against 450 companies across the aerospace, defence, energy, water, finance, [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne hires Rothschild to look into selling off Land Registry November 17, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is once again considering privatising the Land Registry, hiring bankers to look at selling off the state-owned agency. The government has reportedly asked Rothschild, the investment bank, to consider options for selling Land Registry, which is part of the department for business, innovation and skills and maintains records of all property transactions [...]
Paris attacks: Prime Minister David Cameron says there is a “compelling case” for military action in Syria as part of a “comprehensive strategy” November 17, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has said that "the more we learn about Paris, the more it justifies the full spectrum approach we've discussed before in [Parliament]". Speaking to the House of Commons in the aftermath of the tragic Paris attacks on Friday and the G20 summit, Cameron said there needs to be a "comprehensive strategy" [...]
Lord Chris Rennard steps down from Liberal Democrat federal executive after leader Tim Farron urges him not to take the position November 17, 2015 Lord Chris Rennard has stepped down from the Liberal Democrat's executive following a call from party leader Tim Farron for him not to take up the position due to concerns over sexual harassment claims. Over 200 members of the Lib Dems had called for a special conference to discuss Rennard's appointment, who had been accused of [...]