Government fails to meet civil service cut pledge: DWP employs more than 81,000 while DCMS has just 570 June 17, 2015 The coalition government failed to meet its pledge to cut the number of civil servants, new figures show. There were 406,140 civil servants employed across government departments in the first quarter of this year – a slight increase on the back end of 2014, and a 15 per cent reduction since 2010, according to [...]
A world at war: Deaths from armed conflict have more than tripled since 2010 June 17, 2015 The number of people who died as a result of armed combat reached 180,000 last year, according to figures from the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP). This was over 3.5 times higher than the 49,000 who died in 2010, and the economic impact has been huge. Read more: Despite Obama’s silver tongue, the future [...]
End Austerity Now march will completely disrupt parts of the City around Bank and Mansion House, say City of London Police June 17, 2015 A major protest against austerity measures will take over central London this Saturday – and people are being warned to avoid certain parts of the capital as a result. The End Austerity Now march, which is being organised by the People's Assembly Against Austerity and supported by several unions and pressure groups, is expected [...]
Labour deputy leadership race: Tom Watson favourite in a crowded pack June 17, 2015 Five candidates are vying for the role of deputy Labour leader in a crowded race alongside the high-profile leadership battle. Several well-known faces in the party have positioned themselves as candidates to succeed Harriet Harman as the party's deputy leader. Ladbrokes currently has Tom Watson as favourite to become Labour's deputy leader, with odds of 4/5. [...]
Prime Minister’s Questions: George Osborne discusses radicalisation, climate change and employment June 17, 2015 George Osborne has made his debut on centre stage at Prime Minister's Questions, as Parliament discussed radicalisation, climate change and today's employment figures. The Chancellor was standing in for the Prime Minister, who is continuing his tour of Europe to meet EU leaders, while Labour's Hilary Benn was asking questions. Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, [...]
Labour’s London mayor hopefuls debate Heathrow airport expansion June 17, 2015 The six Labour candidates hoping to succeed Boris Johnson as mayor of London have clashed over London airport expansion. Tooting MP and former transport secretary Sadiq Khan set the tone for the debate, following his backing of expansion at Gatwick airport. He defended his opposition to Heathrow's third runway, saying that London's air quality was already [...]
London mayor election: Who has declared in the race to succeed Boris Johnson? June 17, 2015 The London mayor election will take place next year and, with incumbent Boris Johnson standing down to focus on his role in Parliament, the field is filling with candidates who have already declared their intentions to run. Five Conservative candidates are looking to succeed Johnson, while six Labour candidates, two Greens, one Independent and a [...]
Labour leadership campaign: Tories support Corbyn in bid to damage party June 17, 2015 Conservatives have launched a campaign to elect Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party in order to damage the party's electoral prospects. After Labour's poor results in the General Election, they believe that another left-leaning leader would lock the party out of government for another term. Changes in the Labour party rules now allow [...]
David Cameron gets a bloody nose as rebel Tory backbenchers flex their muscles over EU referendum bill June 16, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron avoided an embarrassing parliamentary defeat last night, but only after Labour decided to abstain from a key vote. More than two dozen Conservative backbenchers rebelled over rules surrounding an EU referendum that Cameron has promised will take place before the end of 2017. A cross-party combination including 27 Tory rebels and [...]
Mayoral candidate Ivan Massow plans to raise £400m from a London tourist tax June 16, 2015 London could rein in almost half a billion pounds in public revenue with a tourist tax, a Conservative mayoral candidate has told City A.M.. Ivan Massow, who is in the running to take over from Boris Johnson as mayor of London, believes there should be a charge a rate of £1 per star per [...]