Business group urges David Cameron to call European Union referendum earlier October 6, 2015 The referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union is at risk of becoming a “chance to whack the political elite” and should be held sooner rather than later, one Britain's biggest business groups will say today. Institute of Directors (IoD) director general Simon Walker will use the IoD’s annual convention at Royal Albert Hall [...]
EU referendum: Lord Nigel Lawson says Lord Peter Mandelson has a “lack of self-confidence” over UK’s prospects outside the EU October 6, 2015 Lord Nigel Lawson has accused Lord Peter Mandelson of having an "astonishing lack of self-confidence" in the United Kingdom’s prospects if it left the European Union, in a showdown between the two veteran politicians. Speaking to an audience at the Royal Albert Hall, Lawson, who was last week appointed president of Conservatives for Britain, a [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson wins over delegates at Conservative party conference 2015 as he slams Jeremy Corbyn and ramps up the pressure over Heathrow October 6, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson won over delegates at the Conservative conference in Manchester today with a wide-ranging speech that fuelled speculation the MP for Uxbridge will challenge chancellor George Osborne to be the party's next leader. Johnson, who sits in the Prime Minister's political cabinet but is often unafraid to challenge the government's positions, used his speech to a packed [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Businesses lash out at home secretary Theresa May over immigration October 6, 2015 Business groups are slamming home secretary Theresa May's speech to the Conservative party conference today, calling her hardened stance on immigration "irresponsible" and "nonsense". Institute of Directors (IoD) director general Simon Walker said his organisation was "astonished by the irresponsible rhetoric and pandering to anti-immigration sentiment from the home secretary". "It is yet another example of the [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour conference speech used passages rejected by Ed Miliband and Neil Kinnock October 6, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn’s first major speech as Labour leader included old passages first written in the 1980s and offered to every party leader from Neil Kinnock to Ed Miliband. Corbyn, a veteran MP who has called for a “new politics”, told conference delegates in an hour-long speech in Brighton yesterday that people with “property and [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith says he’ll bring in big investors for London housing October 6, 2015 Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith backed has Crossrail 2, called for more tax powers for City Hall, and promised to get more institutional investors funding housing development in his first major speech as the Conservative candidate for London mayor today. Speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Goldsmith said Labour's "search for a mayoral candidate was vicious and divisive", while [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Chancellor George Osborne gives local councils control of £26bn in business rates October 5, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said that he is giving "power to the people" by handing local authorities control over £26bn in revenues from business rates. In his speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester today, Osborne promised a "devolution revolution" by vowing to allow local governments to keep the rates they collect from business. Councils currently [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Heathrow or Gatwick expansion? Government ministers promise airports decision by Christmas October 5, 2015 Government ministers are doubling down on their commitment to respond by the end of the year to the Airports Commission's recommendation for a third runway at Heathrow. Speaking today at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he did not "hide the challenge" of choosing whether to back or reject the commission's [...]
Electoral Reform Society: One-party run UK councils waste £2.6bn a year October 5, 2015 Councils run by just one political party could be wasting as much as £2.6bn a year, according to a new study out this week from the Electoral Reform Society. The report, which compared councils dominated by one party to more electorally-competitive councils, found that so-called single party councils were saving about £2.6bn less each year [...]
Think tank says childcare plan has £1bn hole October 5, 2015 The government’s plan to double the amount of free childcare available has been underfunded by around £1bn, a think tank will argue today. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says that increasing the amount of free childcare for three and four-year-olds to 30 hours a week would cost £1.6bn a year, [...]