Labour: tax credit cuts could cost the Conservatives the next General Election October 18, 2015 Cutting tax credits could cost the Tories 71 seats in the next General Election, the Labour party has argued. In new analysis released over the weekend, Labour identified 71 Conservative-held constituencies where the number of families set to lose tax credits exceeded the margin of the MP’s victory in May’s General Election. The government’s proposed [...]
EU referendum: avoiding Brexit would add £58bn to UK economy each year October 18, 2015 Staying in the European Union could add £58bn a year to the British economy by 2030, according to a new report out this week. The study, commissioned by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, also found that avoiding a so-called Brexit could bring 790,000 jobs to Britain over [...]
Will Boris Johnson tackle George Osborne next? October 18, 2015 It looks like London mayor Boris Johnson is the voters' favourite to replace David Cameron as leader of the Conservative party. According to a new ComRes poll out this weekend, when asked whether Johnson or chancellor George Osborne would make a better prime minister, 39 per cent of respondents backed Johnson, compared to 33 per cent [...]
Xi Jinping: Britain has made “visionary” progress to strengthen ties with China October 18, 2015 China’s president Xi Jinping has called the UK’s ambitions to become China’s best partner in the West a “visionary and strategic choice”, as his state visit to the UK draws near. The visit, which officially begins on Tuesday, will be Xi’s first time in the UK in over two decades. It’s been described by officials [...]
EU referendum: It’s the UK’s young people who will be most affected by a Brexit, and that’s why the vote should be extended to 16 and 17-year-olds October 16, 2015 The government’s commitment to a referendum on our membership of the European Union has come to the fore again in the past fortnight with the launch of the “In” campaign supporting our continued membership, and a shoal of campaigns competing to leave “at any price”. For too long the debate has been one sided – portraits have continued [...]
Government to hold crisis summit on UK’s troubled steel industry following SSI Redcar closure October 16, 2015 Government ministers are holding a crisis summit on the UK's troubled steel industry today, in the wake of high-profile mill closures that have led to thousands of job losses. Ministers, along with steel companies, unions and trade bodies, are meeting in Rotherham to discuss how the industry can counter overcapacity, cheap imports from China and the [...]
EU referendum: A Brexit vote could spark a Scottish independence rerun, warns Nicola Sturgeon October 15, 2015 Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday warned Prime Minister David Cameron that a Brexit could spark another independence referendum north of the border. Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Sturgeon said taking Scotland out of the EU will result in a surge of demand for yet another in/out vote. “If you try to take [...]
Osborne’s “rhetoric on tax credits is just empty words” due to lack of analysis – Helen Goodman October 15, 2015 The government's controversial decision to cut tax credits has come under renewed fire after it emerged that its analysis of the distributional effects of measures in the July Budget, including changes to tax credits and the national living wage, has been largely absent. In July the Treasury select committee was surprised not to receive the distributional [...]
SNP conference 2015: Nicola Sturgeon says Brexit could lead to another independence referendum October 15, 2015 Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon doubled down today on her warning to Prime Minister David Cameron that Britain leaving the European Union could spark another Scottish independence referendum. Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Sturgeon said taking Scotland out of the EU will result in a surge of demand for yet another in/out vote. "If [...]
EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron says he’ll spell out his demands in November October 15, 2015 After months of speculation, Prime Minister David Cameron has finally set a date for spelling out his demands to the European Union – and it's only weeks away. Cameron told reporters in Brussels today that the pace of renegotiation efforts between Britain and the EU would "quicken" and that he would set out "four vital areas where [...]