Treasury select committee chairman Andrew Tyrie slams the government over ONS and OBR, saying UK statistics are “scarcely fit for purpose” January 7, 2016 A leading MP has slammed the government over its number-crunching, saying some of the UK's statistics are "scarcely fit for purpose". Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury select committee, said today that the UK has "fallen behind other countries" when it comes to compiling national statistics. "The ONS has fallen a long way short, lacking intellectual [...]
EU referendum: Brexit makes winning a Scottish independence referendum more difficult January 7, 2016 Former foreign secretary William Hague made one of the more bizarre arguments for remaining in European Union when he asserted that a United Kingdom vote to leave the EU would “increase the chances … of Scotland leaving the UK.” It is true the Scottish National Party (SNP) says that a UK vote to leave the EU [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn finalises shadow cabinet reshuffle after resignations January 7, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has finalised his shadow cabinet after three shadow ministers resigned yesterday, leaving spots on the front bench open. Jonathan Reynolds, Stephen Doughty and Kevan Jones all quit yesterday over a number of issues with Corbyn's reshuffle. Read more: How this week has defined what politics in 2016 will look like Corbyn has [...]
US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump threatens to pull £700m of investment from UK over calls for him to be banned from entering the country January 7, 2016 US presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw millions of pounds of investment into the United Kingdom if he is banned from entering the country. The billionaire has said that he will not invest any more money into his two golf courses in Scotland if he does end up prevented from coming to the UK. [...]
EU referendum: Majority of Britons would vote to leave the EU, according to new poll January 7, 2016 A majority of Britons who have made up their minds would vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, according to a new poll. An ORB opinion poll found that while 21 per cent of voters were still undecided, 43 per cent want to leave the EU, against just 36 per cent who [...]
Nearly 500,000 unbuilt homes with approval caught in backlog – LGA January 7, 2016 Close to 500,000 potential new homes with planning permission are caught up in a giant backlog that is contributing to the country’s housing crisis, according to the Local Government Authority (LGA). A study commissioned by the LGA shows that 475,000 homes with planning permission are waiting to be built in England, a rapid increase on [...]
The gloves are off: Sadiq Khan launches latest attack on London mayoral election rival Zac Goldsmith January 7, 2016 The race to replace Boris Johnson as mayor of London is descending into a war of words, as Labour candidate Sadiq Khan launches his sharpest attack yet against Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith. Khan will slam Goldsmith in a speech today at the Resolution Foundation think tank, saying that the Richmond Park MP “doesn’t get how to work with business.” [...]
EU referendum: Barclays, HSBC bosses give evidence to MPs on Britain’s EU membership, say City would “thrive” after Brexit January 6, 2016 The City would retain its status as a global financial centre if British voters back leaving the European Union, a Barclays executive has claimed. Speaking to MPs on the Treasury select committee this afternoon, Mark Astaire, vice chair of the investment banking division at Barclays, said that while London has “thrived” within the European Union, [...]
The Treasury could be about to return £17bn of Bradford and Bingley assets to private ownership January 6, 2016 A sizable part of the Bradford and Bingley (B&B) mortgage book could be about to be sold off in what could be the biggest ever sale of financial assets by a British government. The government is reportedly working on plans to offload a £17bn tranche of the bailed out mortgage lender. A spokesperson for UK [...]
Prime Minister’s Questions: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pushes David Cameron on cancellation of flood protection schemes January 6, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pushed Prime Minister David Cameron on the cancellation, delay and cuts to a number of flood defences that left communities devastated over Christmas when storms hit. Corbyn said a £190m flood defence scheme was cancelled in 2011 in Leeds, a city that was subsequently flooded, and that spending on flood defences in Cumbria was also [...]