The Green Deal cost taxpayers £17,000 per household April 14, 2016 The government's abandoned flagship energy-saving programme cost the taxpayer £17,000 per each home that was improved, a watchdog has said. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that "the Green Deal has not achieved value for money". The scheme cost the taxpayer £240m, including grants to stimulate demand, but has generated additional energy savings. "This is because [...]
EU referendum: Jeremy Corbyn outlines pro-EU case but opponents say he’s been gagged April 14, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn has set out his case for why the United Kingdom should vote to remain in the European Union, in his first intervention of the campaign. The Labour leader stressed the "socialist case" for remaining in the 28-member bloc. While acknowledging the shortcomings of the EU, he argued that reform should be made from within, and [...]
EU referendum: Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave given official designation by the Electoral Commission ahead of Grassroots Out April 13, 2016 Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave have been chosen as the official campaign groups by the Electoral Commission ahead of the referendum in June. Both groups will be entitled to broadcast campaign speeches, receive a publicly funded grant of up to £600,000 and send a leaflet to each household. A higher sending limit of £7m is imposed [...]
EU referendum: Citi the latest bank to give six figure sum to the Remain campaign April 13, 2016 Citigroup has become the latest bank to ply the pro-EU camp with a six figure sum, ahead of the referendum this summer. Citi is the fourth US bank to hand a cash sum to campaign group Britain Stronger in Europe, after Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley all donated. A Britain Stronger in Europe spokesperson [...]
EU referendum: Unison joins Unite and GMB in urging members to back Remain April 13, 2016 Unison has become the latest union to officially back Remain ahead of the EU referendum, in a huge blow to Leave campaigners. After overcoming "its doubts", the union will encourage its 1.3m members to back continued EU membership, after over 78 per cent of its branches wanted the union to take a stance and 95 per [...]
PMQs today: Prime Minister David Cameron grilled by Jeremy Corbyn on tax transparency as he confirms he will remain PM if UK votes for Brexit April 13, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron came under pressure this week from Jeremy Corbyn, who probed heavily on tax affairs in the wake of the Panama papers. Cameron had to admit his original plans to get the overseas territories and crown dependencies, including the British Virgin Islands, to have public registers have been shelved. Cameron said that there [...]
EU referendum: “Talk to Gran” campaign launched by pro-Remain group April 13, 2016 A pro-EU group has launched its "Talk to Gran" campaign in an effort to shore up support from older generations by asking younger voters to try and sway their grandparents. Britain Stronger in Europe, the pro-Remain campaign, wants its younger supporters to send postcards to their older relatives telling them why they are voting for continued [...]
Tracey McDermott to leave the Financial Conduct Authority April 13, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced Tracey McDermott, its acting chief executive, will leave at the beginning of July. In a statement today it said McDermott, who was appointed as acting chief exec in September, will leave when Andrew Bailey takes up the full-time role later this year. In December last year McDermott pulled out [...]
EU referendum: Brexit not likely to lead to fall in immigration April 13, 2016 Life outside the EU will not be an apocalypse and it will not be a utopia, but there would likely be a small negative economic result from Brexit and immigration may not fall, according to new research. A report from think tank Open Europe states that "there is growing evidence that there would be a [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Where do Zac Goldsmith, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Caroline Pidgeon and Peter Whittle stand on housing? April 13, 2016 With 22 days left to go until London elects its next mayor, each candidate is out vying for votes across the capital. To get those votes candidates have been going to battle on a range of issues. But none is more prevalent than housing. Polling of those who live in London shows that housing is identified as [...]