Federation of Small Businesses sends wish list to London mayoral hopefuls October 20, 2015 Small businesses in the capital are calling on the next mayor of London to work to bring down property costs. In a report released today, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) London laid out a “London Manifesto” for Boris Johnson’s successor. After polling nearly 7,000 small businesses in London on their biggest concerns for City [...]
Shelter warns government’s plans to freeze housing benefit could be devastating for London families October 20, 2015 Government plans to freeze housing benefit could have a devastating on over 100,000 families who privately rent in London, according to new research from housing charity Shelter. The freeze, which comes into force next April, will keep housing benefit, which helps lower income families to pay rent – and only covers rents in the cheapest third [...]
Lord Norman Warner resigns Labour whip and takes leaving jab at Jeremy Corbyn October 19, 2015 Labour peer Lord Norman Warner has resigned the Labour whip saying the party was no longer a credible one, according to reports. In his resignation letter to party leader Jeremy Corbyn seen by the Guardian, he is reported as saying: Labour will only win another election with a policy approach that wins back people who [...]
EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron says “we can succeed in this renegotiation” October 19, 2015 Negotiations with the United Kingdom's European counterparts are going well, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, Cameron said that the negotiations which took place last Thursday in Brussels, including a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, were positive. Cameron added: I've set out the four things we [...]
English votes for English laws “must be piloted”, say MPs October 19, 2015 The government's proposals to give English MPs new powers over "English only issues" should be piloted on selected legislation before being rolled out in full force, the Procedures Select Committee has said. Under the proposals all MPs will continue to vote on all key stages of legislation. However, English MPs – and in some cases [...]
Chinese visitors to Britain hit record high on the eve of Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK October 19, 2015 With a state visit to the UK by Chinese president Xi Jinpin about to begin, record-high tourism figures from Chinese nationals have give further fuel to the notion of the UK being the country's best friend in the west. The number of people visiting Britain from China hit 90,000 in the first six months of 2015, VisitBritain figures [...]
Ministers who campaign for Brexit “will be sacked” October 19, 2015 A group of six Conservative cabinet ministers have called on Prime Minister David Cameron to allow ministers to campaign with their conscience when it comes to whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The unnamed ministers want Cameron to abandon the ministerial code, which requires collective responsibility among [...]
Jinping Kerching: David Cameron and Chinese President expected to announce several deals October 19, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping are hailing a “golden era” of Sino-British relations on the eve of Jingping’s four-day state visit to the UK, as investors await confirmation of billions of pounds worth of trade and investment deals. Among the expected announcements is a multibillion pound deal to build the controversial new nuclear [...]
Moore Stephens: directors acting illegally “are more likely than ever to get caught” October 19, 2015 The number of company directors disqualified for conducting unlawful transactions in failing businesses increased sharply over the last year, according to a new report out today from Moore Stephens, the accountancy firm. Moore Stephens recorded a 12 per cent jump in disqualifications for so-called uncommercial transactions, such as selling assets cheaply or paying off loans improperly at [...]
CBI director general: government needs to spend more on research and development October 19, 2015 A leading business group wants the government to prioritise innovation and science funding in next month’s comprehensive spending review (CSR). The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is today calling on the government to spend more than six times what it currently allocates to research and development (R&D), increasing provisions from 0.49 per cent of GDP [...]