As building societies pile on the pressure, Andrew Tyrie warns George Osborne against new bank surcharge August 19, 2015 The chairman of an influential parliamentary committee has urged chancellor George Osborne to make sure that a new tax on banks does not reduce competition in the market. Read more: Osborne facing pressure from building societies over "perverse" bank surcharge Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, said today that there was a danger of "unintended consequences" [...]
Five charts showing where political parties get their money August 19, 2015 Unions donated more to political parties than companies did in the second quarter of 2015, while both lagged behind the value of individual donations, according to figures published by the Electoral Commission, the independent party funding watchdog. Overall, 12 political parties registered in Great Britain reported almost £21m in total donations in the second quarter of [...]
Punters cash in on Corbyn win three weeks before ballots close August 19, 2015 The bookies are so convinced Jeremy Corbyn will win the Labour leadership contest, at least one oddsmaker has already made payments to punters. Paddy Power said yesterday it was paying out £100,000 on Corbyn – more than three weeks before ballots are due. A winner in the Labour leadership race is set to be announced [...]
Protests grow as Brazil’s crisis deepens: Impeachment threats make Dilma Rousseff’s future look uncertain August 19, 2015 Crisis is engulfing Brazil as hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets demanding the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, as the country slides into its worst economic crisis for 25 years. Protests have taken place across the country in the third major day of demonstrations this year, following unrest in March [...]
Calais migrant crisis: UK and France to sign deal for increased security August 18, 2015 Home secretary Theresa May will travel to Calais on Thursday to sign a deal with French interior minister Bernard Cazeneue on tackling the migrant crisis. Read more: The Calais migrant crisis shows why Europe needs a common migration policy and a new asylum system The ministers will agree to increase security measures for preventing [...]
We need the facts on fracking to make responsible decisions about UK energy August 18, 2015 Today the Government announced that it will award 27 new exploration licences, opening up 1,000 square miles of the UK as potential sites for shale gas extraction. With thousands more people faced with the possibility of having it on their doorstep, the debate on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been well and truly renewed. Proponents [...]
Sadiq Khan gains backing of Neil Kinnock to be Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London August 18, 2015 Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has pledged his support to Sadiq Khan to become the Labour candidate for London mayor. Writing for the Mirror, Kinnock said: “Labour must recapture City Hall, and our best chance of doing that is with Sadiq Khan as our candidate for London mayor in 2016.” Read more: Meet London mayor [...]
Did Sadiq Khan just become the new front-runner for Mayor of London? August 18, 2015 Labour mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan has received a massive boost thanks to a new Survation poll showing he would beat Conservative front-runner Zac Goldsmith in a head-to-head race for City Hall. When Survation asked 1,000 Londoners if they would vote for Khan, Goldsmith or “another party’s candidate”, a surprising 50 per cent said they would [...]
Poll: Tory MPs would cheer Corbyn victory August 18, 2015 The #Tories for Corbyn movement may have found more supporters – on the Conservative backbenches. More than half of Tory backbench MPs would “cheer” the election of the left-wing candidate Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, according to a new poll out today from Maitland, a communications firm. Maitland polled 89 backbench MPs earlier this month, [...]
Greeks work longer hours than any other Europeans August 18, 2015 Think “lazy Greeks” and “hard-working Germans”? Well, put your stereotypes away, because it turns out Greece is actually the country with longest average working hours in Europe. Germans, meanwhile, work fewer hours than any other Europeans, according data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Greece may have suffered bad press recently, but [...]