2016 London mayoral election: Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith gets housing boost from Prime Minister David Cameron January 4, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has given Conservative candidate for mayor of London Zac Goldsmith a boost today by announcing that he will amend the national government's housing bill to address concerns over a lack of affordable housing in the capital. Cameron said that he is incorporating an amendment put forward by Goldsmith to create a binding [...]
EU referendum: Six more Conservative MPs say they’re backing Brexit as Nigel Farage, Peter Bone, Tom Pursglove and Kate Hoey launch new cross-party “leave” campaign January 4, 2016 Six new Conservative MPs have come out in favour of Britain leaving the European Union today, piling pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron as he works to secure a reform deal by the end of the next month. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, James Cleverly, Scott Mann, Craig Mackinlay, Royston Smith and Paul Scully, all elected as MPs [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is finally sitting down with Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general Carolyn Fairbairn January 4, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn will finally meet with one of Britain's biggest business groups this week, nearly four months after he was elected as Labour leader. Corbyn is scheduled to sit down with Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general Carolyn Fairbairn within days, Sky News first reported this morning. Corbyn drew sharp criticism when he declined an invitation to address [...]
Argentina’s new government under Mauricio Macri will continue Falklands claim January 4, 2016 The new government of Argentina led by president Mauricio Macri has said it will continue to push ahead with its claim over the Falkland Islands. The election of Macri last year signalled a friendlier diplomatic approach than predecessor Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the Argentine Foreign Ministry has now called for a peaceful settlement to the dispute. In a statement on Sunday it said: “Argentina [...]
Brace yourselves: Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is launching his own political movement, DiEM 25 January 4, 2016 Yanis Varoufakis – Greece's motorbike-riding, leather jacket-wearing, Paris Match-posing former finance minister – is back, with plans launch his own political movement. German socialist newspaper Neues Deutschland reported today that Varoufakis will launch a "pan-European activist network" known as the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25 to its friends). The movement is billed as the "third alternative" between renationalisation campaigns and "anti-democratic EU institutions", [...]
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under fire as MPs on Treasury Select Committee call for hearing over decision to scrap banking culture review January 4, 2016 Leading MPs have slammed the City watchdog over its decision to drop a review into Britain’s banking culture, raising the possibility of an imminent public grilling of top regulators. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed last week that it had scrapped plans for an inquiry into the culture and behaviour of British bank employees, saying that [...]
Saudi Arabia breaks diplomatic ties with Iran following protests over execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr January 3, 2016 Saudi Arabia has announced it has broken all diplomatic ties with Iran following the criticised execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Al-Nimr was one of 47 executed in Saudi Arabia yesterday, having been found guilty of “terrorism”. The cleric has been a long-time critic of Saudi’s Sunni royal family. Condemned by Shia leaders, [...]
New Islamic State propaganda video claims to show killing of five UK spies and warns David Cameron of attacks in the UK January 3, 2016 A new propaganda video for the so-called Islamic State purports to show the murder of five hostages the terrorist group says were UK spies. The 11-minute clip released by Isis features a masked man and a young boy both speaking English with British accents. Sending a “message for David Cameron”, the jihadist organisation threatens to [...]
EU referendum: warring words among campaign groups over trade benefits of Britain’s EU membership January 3, 2016 A new fight has emerged in the European Union debate, with sparring campaign groups exchanging harsh words over whether a so-called Brexit would hurt British exporters. Britain Stronger in Europe, a pro-EU campaign, published new research today showing that the EU is the UK’s largest trading partner, taking in 50 per cent of all British [...]
Heathrow or Gatwick airport expansion? The majority of MPs back Heathrow, new poll reveals January 3, 2016 The majority of MPs, regardless of their party membership, back the expansion of Heathrow airport as the solution to the UK's problem of much-needed air capacity expansion, ahead of a second runway being built at Gatwick. Some 68 per cent of Conservative MPs and 66 per cent of Labour politicians support the Heathrow option compared to 30 per cent [...]