Labour leadership race: 18 per cent of Corbyn supporters voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 August 28, 2015 Almost one in five supporters of Jeremy Corbyn voted Liberal Democrat in the 2010 elections, new research from YouGov suggests. A survey of 3,777 eligible voters in the Labour leadership election, undertaken in the first week of August, shows 18 per cent of Corbyn supporters voted for the Lib Dems under Nick Clegg. Read more: Is [...]
Syriza’s poll lead narrows ahead of Greek election on 20 September August 28, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza party is likely to be the biggest party after the county's election on 20 September, but with less support than in early July, according to a poll by ProRata. Syriza was supported by 23 per cent, with the conservative New Democracy party hot on its heels with 19.5 per [...]
Tory immigration minister James Brokenshire blames business for rising net migration in the UK August 28, 2015 Business figures hit back yesterday after the government appeared to blame British employers for a jump in net migration to the UK. The number of people coming to the UK, minus those leaving, rose to 330,000 in the year to March – an all-time record high. British growth gets a boost from higher migration, [...]
Ukrainian central bank cuts interest rate to 27 per cent as it secures debt relief from creditors August 27, 2015 Ukraine has cut its interest rate to 27 per cent, a reduction of three percentage points – despite having inflation of 55.3 per cent in July. The Ukrainian central bank said in a statement: "Tight monetary policy pursued by the National Bank of Ukraine for the past six months has significantly contributed to reducing inflation [...]
Labour leadership candidates Liz Kendall and Yvette Cooper attack Jeremy Corbyn’s women-only train proposal August 27, 2015 Politicians from across the political spectrum have hit out at Jeremy Corbyn's proposals for women-only train carriages. The Labour leadership hopeful first floated the idea last night as a way of combating harassment on public transport, saying: "It is unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the [...]
UK target to cut immigration to the “tens of thousands” is harming British businesses, warns the Institute of Directors August 27, 2015 The Conservative government's radical plans to cut immigration is "punishing businesses" and harming the economy, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has warned. In a joint statement with think tank British Future, the IoD has called for a comprehensive immigration review, which aims to look at all options available to government. Simon Walker, director general of [...]
Government’s starter homes programme won’t help London’s first-time buyers August 27, 2015 Londoners hoping to buy their first home will not get much help from the government, according to a new report out today. In the report, Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, takes issue with the government’s affordable house building policies, saying its flagship “starter homes” programme will fail to help most first-time buyers. Prime Minister [...]
Institute for Public Policy Research: Re-draw the UK’s constituency map to get rid of safe seats and boost voter turnout August 26, 2015 Safe parliamentary seats should be scrapped to boost voter turnout, according to a new report out today. In the report, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank argues that the Boundary Commission’s responsibilities should be expanded to “consider the electoral competitiveness of a seat when reviewing constituency boundaries”. The Boundary Commission, which is responsible [...]
India blocks mobile internet for an entire state because of protests August 26, 2015 India blocked mobile internet in the entire state of Gujarat, in response to political protests being organised through Whatsapp, which have turned violent. Some 63m people living in the western state are affected by the blackout, and authorities say internet services will only resume after the protests subside. The protests are led by the state’s [...]
The UK’s gender pay gap is not a moral issue, but a business one August 25, 2015 A survey carried out by the Chartered Management Institute and the pay analysts XPertHR reported a 22 per cent gender pay gap at management level – with women earning far less than their male counterparts. This translates to women working effectively 57 days for free. This is unacceptable, but do the statistics really show a [...]