EU referendum: British voters don’t believe no means no August 20, 2015 British voters do not believe "no" will really mean no when it comes to the European referendum, according to a new survey. The poll, by YouGov, found 41 per cent of voters think if Britain votes to leave the European Union in a referendum, instead of leaving the bloc straight away, it's likely there would [...]
Greek snap election on 20 September, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras set to announce August 20, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to announce a snap election for 20 September, just months into his party Syriza's rule, according to Greek media reports. A separate report from Reuters claims Tsipras will offer his resignation later today, citing an unnamed government official. It had been widely expected that a confidence vote [...]
Foreign secretary Philip Hammond travels to Iran to reopen UK’s Tehran embassy after nearly four years August 20, 2015 The UK will formally reopen its embassy in Tehran this weekend, almost four years after the building shut down after being stormed by demonstrators. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond will travel to Iran "in the coming days" to reopen the embassy. At the same time the Iranian embassy in London will be reopened, the Foreign Office [...]
George Osborne wants to build more homes in the countryside August 20, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne wants to reform planning laws and make it easier for villages to build new houses. The chancellor said more people are moving to the countryside with rural areas of England experiencing net internal migration of more than 60,000 a year. "This government is determined to support the millions that already choose a [...]
London mayoral elections: Stephen Greenhalgh argues the capital needs a more joined-up approach to its emergency services August 20, 2015 London's ambulance service is in crisis. Last year Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to defend its performance, which was the worst in the country with only 66.5 per cent of ambulances reaching the most serious 999 calls within eight minutes. The NHS target is 75 per cent. This is because the ambulance service [...]
Denmark scales back climate goals that are proving “too expensive” for businesses August 20, 2015 Denmark is scaling back its green ambitions, after the country’s government said the previous target was “too expensive for businesses”. In a goal set by the country’s previous government, Denmark had promised to reduce its carbon emissions at least 40 per cent by 2020, against 1990 levels. This is proving too expensive though, so the [...]
London mayoral hopeful Stephen Greenhalgh renews pledge to cut Tube fares August 19, 2015 London mayoral hopeful Stephen Greenhalgh has said there is “a deal to be done” between City Hall and the government to cut Tube and rail fares for commuters. Greenhalgh, who will set out his new plan for London this morning at a rally outside City Hall, told City A.M. that he is confident that he [...]
As building societies pile on the pressure, Andrew Tyrie warns George Osborne against new bank surcharge August 19, 2015 The chairman of an influential parliamentary committee has urged chancellor George Osborne to make sure that a new tax on banks does not reduce competition in the market. Read more: Osborne facing pressure from building societies over "perverse" bank surcharge Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, said today that there was a danger of "unintended consequences" [...]
Five charts showing where political parties get their money August 19, 2015 Unions donated more to political parties than companies did in the second quarter of 2015, while both lagged behind the value of individual donations, according to figures published by the Electoral Commission, the independent party funding watchdog. Overall, 12 political parties registered in Great Britain reported almost £21m in total donations in the second quarter of [...]
Punters cash in on Corbyn win three weeks before ballots close August 19, 2015 The bookies are so convinced Jeremy Corbyn will win the Labour leadership contest, at least one oddsmaker has already made payments to punters. Paddy Power said yesterday it was paying out £100,000 on Corbyn – more than three weeks before ballots are due. A winner in the Labour leadership race is set to be announced [...]