Conservative party conference 2015: Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith says he’ll bring in big investors for London housing October 6, 2015 Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith backed has Crossrail 2, called for more tax powers for City Hall, and promised to get more institutional investors funding housing development in his first major speech as the Conservative candidate for London mayor today. Speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Goldsmith said Labour's "search for a mayoral candidate was vicious and divisive", while [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Chancellor George Osborne gives local councils control of £26bn in business rates October 5, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said that he is giving "power to the people" by handing local authorities control over £26bn in revenues from business rates. In his speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester today, Osborne promised a "devolution revolution" by vowing to allow local governments to keep the rates they collect from business. Councils currently [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Heathrow or Gatwick expansion? Government ministers promise airports decision by Christmas October 5, 2015 Government ministers are doubling down on their commitment to respond by the end of the year to the Airports Commission's recommendation for a third runway at Heathrow. Speaking today at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he did not "hide the challenge" of choosing whether to back or reject the commission's [...]
Electoral Reform Society: One-party run UK councils waste £2.6bn a year October 5, 2015 Councils run by just one political party could be wasting as much as £2.6bn a year, according to a new study out this week from the Electoral Reform Society. The report, which compared councils dominated by one party to more electorally-competitive councils, found that so-called single party councils were saving about £2.6bn less each year [...]
Think tank says childcare plan has £1bn hole October 5, 2015 The government’s plan to double the amount of free childcare available has been underfunded by around £1bn, a think tank will argue today. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says that increasing the amount of free childcare for three and four-year-olds to 30 hours a week would cost £1.6bn a year, [...]
Thousands march in Manchester anti-austerity protests at Conservative party conference October 4, 2015 Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Manchester in an anti-austerity protest on the first day of the Conservative party conference which kicks off today. Around 80,000 people have joined the Take Back Manchester march through the city, according to local media reports and organisers. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also [...]
David Cameron doubles drone fleet in Islamic State fight and “beefs up” SAS October 4, 2015 David Cameron has said the UK will double the number of drones being used by the army to fight Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, speaking ahead of the Conservative party conference. The Prime Minister also said that UK strikes against IS in Syria “may well become possible” but he would not push for [...]
Former Labour chancellor Denis Healey dies at home in Sussex aged 98 October 3, 2015 Former Labour chancellor Denis Healey died at his home in Sussex this morning, aged 98. According to his family, he died peacefully in his sleep following a short illness. The politician served as an MP for Leeds for 40 years, and was chancellor of the exchequer from 1974 to 1979. In 1980, he became [...]
Russian airstrikes mainly hitting Syrian civilians, says defence secretary Michael Fallon October 3, 2015 UK defence secretary Michael Fallon has accused Russia of protecting Syria's Assad regime by targeting airstrikes at civilians. He told The Sun that very few strikes by the country, which began its launches there earlier this week, were hitting Islamic State (IS) militants. We're analysing where the strikes are going every morning. The vast [...]
Conservatives name Zac Goldsmith as candidate for London Mayoral Election 2016 October 2, 2015 The Conservatives have chosen their man for next year's London mayoral race: Zac Goldsmith, who was widely expected to win the online primary. In a statement this morning, the Conservative party said Goldsmith received 70 per cent of the online vote – way above runner-up Syed Kamall, who clinched 16 per cent. The decision will [...]