Andy Burnham: The Labour party lacks the courage to win back voters July 28, 2015 The frontrunner in the Labour leadership contest, Andy Burnham, will try to turn Labour infighting to his advantage by warning that the party has become “frightened of its own shadow” and would lack the courage to create the NHS today. In a speech today, he will seek to address the surprise surge in popularity of [...]
Lord Sewel bows to pressure and quits House of Lords amid sex and drugs allegations July 28, 2015 Lord Sewel of Gilcomstoun has bowed to pressure and stepped down from the House of Lords after allegedly taking cocaine with a pair of £200-a-night sex workers at his apartment in Dolphin Square, in Pimlico. In an expose by the Sun on Sunday this weekend, the paper alleged it had filmed him reclining and smoking [...]
David Cameron: There will be no second Scottish independence referendum while I am Prime Minister July 28, 2015 The Prime Minister has rejected claims by Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon that she will dictate when a second Scottish independence referendum takes place, ruling out another vote in the current parliament. The timing of a second vote, Sturgeon said, would ultimately be her decision, agreeing with Alex Salmond, former SNP leader, that it [...]
UK house prices: MPs form new cross-party group over housing crisis July 27, 2015 Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum have banded together to tackle the housing crisis as a new report shows first-time buyers are bearing the brunt of rapidly increasing house prices. The new all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for housing and planning, which includes Tory and Labour MPs, as well as cross-bench peers, will [...]
Lord Sewel takes leave amid drug and prostitute scandal July 27, 2015 Lord Sewel said last night that he would take a leave of absence from the House of Lords pending a police investigation into allegations that he took drugs with prostitutes. Over the weekend, the Sun on Sunday newspaper published video footage appearing to show an undressed Sewel snorting cocaine through a rolled-up bank note with [...]
David Cameron looks to City for new business advisory group with bosses from BP, EasyJet and Santander July 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed a new slate of 19 City leaders to his business advisory group, including more than a dozen chief executives of UK blue chips. The chief executives of BP, Legal & General, EasyJet, Land Securities, the London Stock Exchange Group, Persimmon, Asda, ARM, Severn Trent and Rolls Royce all [...]
George Osborne becomes favourite for Conservative leadership, knocking Boris Johnson into second place July 27, 2015 George Osborne is now the most likely Conservative to replace David Cameron as leader of the party, according to William Hill. Read more: July Budget 2015: Chancellor George Osborne plans to crack down on non-doms The chancellor's odds were increased today following a month of rising popularity since his Budget speech, and he now [...]
Immigration debate: More than 1,300 skilled visa applications were rejected by the Home Office in June July 27, 2015 A cap introduced on Tier 2 visas by the Home Office was reached for the first time in June, resulting in 1,329 visa applications being rejected. A freedom of information request by technology publication Techworld showed that after the cap of 1,650 was hit, the UK authorities rejected applications for the first time since it [...]
David Cameron says deals worth more than £750m will be made on south east Asia trip July 27, 2015 As the he embarks on his four-day trip to south-east Asia, David Cameron has said business deals worth in excess of £750m will be made. The trade mission, for which Cameron is accompanied by 31 business leaders, aims to forge links to the area to exploit emerging markets which could open up new channels for [...]
Lord Sewel suspended from the Labour party following drug and prostitution allegations July 27, 2015 After allegedly taking drugs with prostitutes, Lord Sewel has been suspended by the Labour party and has been urged to stand down from the House of Lords. While Sewel has not yet made a comment on the claims, he has already resigned as Lords deputy speaker and chairman of the Lords privileges and conduct committee. [...]