Tougher stamp duty rules have hit prices for top country homes – Knight Frank October 6, 2015 Prices of top country homes have slowed over the third quarter of the year as tougher stamp duty rules hit demand for £1.5m plus properties, according to research out today. Knight Frank’s index of prime country property shows prices edged up by 0.7 per cent between July an September, compared with a 0.9 per [...]
US government narrowly avoids shutdown as Congress votes to extend federal funding October 6, 2015 The US government narrowly avoided being shut down last night, as it ended weeks of infighting with a vote on funding for federal agencies. Congress voted to extend funding for the government, averting a shutdown just hours before a midnight deadline. The vote was largely won on Democrat votes, at 277 to 151. A majority [...]
David Miliband appeals to business to help humanitarian operations in Syria October 6, 2015 David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee. has called on business to help in finding a long-term solution to humanitarian problems, including the crisis engulfing Syria, its neighbouring countries and spilling into Europe. Read more: Over 40 councils ready to offer sanctuary to refugees Miliband said in a speech at the Institute of Directors' [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Business secretary Sajid Javid says Trade Union Bill strike laws are for “working people” October 6, 2015 Business secretary Sajid Javid has defended the government’s Trade Union Bill in his speech to the Conservative party conference today, saying that the new law would protect “working people”. “For too long, trade unions have been able to bully working people by striking, even though only a small number of their members have voted for [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Boris Johnson to slam Jeremy Corbyn in speech today October 6, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson will use his speech at the Conservative party conference today to lash out at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and make the case for Conservative leadership both in City Hall and in Westminster. Johnson, who is also the MP for Uxbridge and regularly touted as a possible successor to David Cameron, is [...]
Industry groups welcome George Osborne’s promise on local authorities’ funds October 6, 2015 Industry groups have largely welcomed chancellor George Osborne’s promise to give "power to the people" by handing local authorities control over £26bn in revenues from business rates, fuelling speculation that Osborne is the front-runner to be the next Conservative leader. In a surprise announcement in his speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester yesterday, [...]
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 [...]