EU referendum: Civil service not allowed to help Brexit campaigners but can help ministers arguing for the UK to remain in a reformed European Union February 23, 2016 Civil servants are not going to be allowed to help ministers make a case for Brexit, sparking allegations that the "establishment is lined up in favour of EU membership". The six ministers campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, including justice secretary Michael Gove and leader of the Commons Chris Grayling, will be unable [...]
President Obama reveals plans to close Guantanamo prison February 23, 2016 The White House has presented fresh plans to the US congress to close the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. The remaining 91 detainees are to be moved to their home countries or US military or civilian prisons. Closing Guantanamo has been one of Obama's long term goals, and something he has been working towards [...]
EU referendum: More Londoners want to stay in the EU than leave, but with a large number of undecided voters all is to play for February 23, 2016 Battle lines may have been drawn in Westminster, but all is yet to play for in London in the build up to the EU referendum in June. While most Londoners want to remain in the EU, the lead is not overwhelming and with a large number of voters undecided the outcome is far from certain, according [...]
Labour shadow business secretary Angela Eagle launches new business advisory council chaired by Uphold chief executive Anthony Watson February 23, 2016 Labour's shadow business secretary Angela Eagle has taken steps to repair her party's relationship with British businesses, by announcing today that she will convene a new group of business leaders to advise Labour politicians. Labour's Business and Enterprise Advisory Council will be chaired by Anthony Watson, who is the president and chief executive of Uphold, a cloud-based fintech firm. According [...]
Heathrow and Gatwick bosses John Holland-Kaye and Stewart Wingate agree Britain should remain in the EU as Heathrow reports record year February 23, 2016 Some peace has come to the skies of Britain. The bosses of the two airports vying to become the chosen ones when it comes to airport expansion have put aside that fight to back Britain remaining in Europe. "A vote to remain offers the best of both worlds – it secures our place as a [...]
EU referendum: Asda, HSBC, Vodafone and nearly 200 sign letter saying Brexit would threaten jobs – but Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are not on the list February 23, 2016 The bosses of HSBC, BT, Vodafone and Asda are among those to have put their name to an open letter backing the remain camp and Prime Minister David Cameron's reforms in Europe. More than a third of the UK's biggest companies were represented in the letter, which was published in The Times this morning, saying they represented [...]
EU referendum: Former home secretary Alan Johnson says it’s necessary to cede sovereignty to gain from the European Union February 22, 2016 Former home secretary Alan Johnson has said that it's necessary to cede some sovereignty in order to gain from the European Union. Speaking during a debate on the BBC, Johnson said: "We have agreed that in exchange for this big market that our companies can sell into – a bigger commercial market than the US [...]
EU referendum: Ukip leader Nigel Farage says he doesn’t want to be part of the European Single Market February 22, 2016 Leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage has said that he doesn't want the United Kingdom to be a part of the the European Single Market, but instead wants the UK to "stand on its own two feet". "I don't want to be part of the European Single Market, I want Britain to leave [...]
EU referendum: A second referendum would be extremely difficult, legal expert warns February 22, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron may well be in dispute with Mayor of London Boris Johnson over the idea that a "leave" vote in the upcoming referendum on Britain's relationship with the European Union could lead to a second referendum, but would it be possible anyway? Well, constitutional expert Dr Alan Renwick said that it would be [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith earned more than £10m in the last five years, paid almost £700k in taxes last year alone February 22, 2016 Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith has today published new details about his tax returns for the last five years, after facing tough questions on his previous "non dom" status. According to a letter released by Goldsmith's campaign from PwC (see below), Goldsmith paid £692,870 in income and capital gains taxes last year, and another £4,573.32 in National Insurance [...]