English votes for English laws “must be piloted”, say MPs October 19, 2015 The government's proposals to give English MPs new powers over "English only issues" should be piloted on selected legislation before being rolled out in full force, the Procedures Select Committee has said. Under the proposals all MPs will continue to vote on all key stages of legislation. However, English MPs – and in some cases [...]
Chinese visitors to Britain hit record high on the eve of Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK October 19, 2015 With a state visit to the UK by Chinese president Xi Jinpin about to begin, record-high tourism figures from Chinese nationals have give further fuel to the notion of the UK being the country's best friend in the west. The number of people visiting Britain from China hit 90,000 in the first six months of 2015, VisitBritain figures [...]
Ministers who campaign for Brexit “will be sacked” October 19, 2015 A group of six Conservative cabinet ministers have called on Prime Minister David Cameron to allow ministers to campaign with their conscience when it comes to whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The unnamed ministers want Cameron to abandon the ministerial code, which requires collective responsibility among [...]
Jinping Kerching: David Cameron and Chinese President expected to announce several deals October 19, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping are hailing a “golden era” of Sino-British relations on the eve of Jingping’s four-day state visit to the UK, as investors await confirmation of billions of pounds worth of trade and investment deals. Among the expected announcements is a multibillion pound deal to build the controversial new nuclear [...]
Moore Stephens: directors acting illegally “are more likely than ever to get caught” October 19, 2015 The number of company directors disqualified for conducting unlawful transactions in failing businesses increased sharply over the last year, according to a new report out today from Moore Stephens, the accountancy firm. Moore Stephens recorded a 12 per cent jump in disqualifications for so-called uncommercial transactions, such as selling assets cheaply or paying off loans improperly at [...]
CBI director general: government needs to spend more on research and development October 19, 2015 A leading business group wants the government to prioritise innovation and science funding in next month’s comprehensive spending review (CSR). The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is today calling on the government to spend more than six times what it currently allocates to research and development (R&D), increasing provisions from 0.49 per cent of GDP [...]
Labour: tax credit cuts could cost the Conservatives the next General Election October 18, 2015 Cutting tax credits could cost the Tories 71 seats in the next General Election, the Labour party has argued. In new analysis released over the weekend, Labour identified 71 Conservative-held constituencies where the number of families set to lose tax credits exceeded the margin of the MP’s victory in May’s General Election. The government’s proposed [...]
EU referendum: avoiding Brexit would add £58bn to UK economy each year October 18, 2015 Staying in the European Union could add £58bn a year to the British economy by 2030, according to a new report out this week. The study, commissioned by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, also found that avoiding a so-called Brexit could bring 790,000 jobs to Britain over [...]
Will Boris Johnson tackle George Osborne next? October 18, 2015 It looks like London mayor Boris Johnson is the voters' favourite to replace David Cameron as leader of the Conservative party. According to a new ComRes poll out this weekend, when asked whether Johnson or chancellor George Osborne would make a better prime minister, 39 per cent of respondents backed Johnson, compared to 33 per cent [...]
Xi Jinping: Britain has made “visionary” progress to strengthen ties with China October 18, 2015 China’s president Xi Jinping has called the UK’s ambitions to become China’s best partner in the West a “visionary and strategic choice”, as his state visit to the UK draws near. The visit, which officially begins on Tuesday, will be Xi’s first time in the UK in over two decades. It’s been described by officials [...]