George Osborne to avoid post-election cuts debate by ducking out of Treasury Questions finale March 9, 2015 Labour claims George Osborne is trying to avoid debating the cuts planned in the event of a Conservative election victory, after learning that the chancellor will not be at the last Treasury questions session before the General Election. Osborne will be attending the Ecofin meeting of EU finance ministers instead. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls only [...]
Labour MP John Mann says Tories blocking questioning of ex-HSBC boss Lord Stephen Green March 9, 2015 A leading Labour MP yesterday accused the Tories of blocking moves to summon former HSBC boss Stephen – now Lord – Green to the Treasury select committee to account for the controversy surrounding its Swiss operations. Lord Green, who left HSBC to join the House of Lords as a Conservative peer and trade minister in [...]
Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket: New Tory poster warns of Labour reliance on SNP March 9, 2015 The Conservatives ramped up their attack on Labour yesterday, with a new poster that said Labour would be dictated to by the Scottish National Party (SNIP) in a hung parliament. The poster featured Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket, and was placed on the iconic Piccadilly Circus advertising billboards. The advert comes just days [...]
Greece accused of “wasting time” as latest proposals fail to satisfy Eurozone officials March 9, 2015 The Greek finance minister's latest outline of how he intends to secure funds from international creditors has failed to impress Eurozone officials. On Friday, Yanis Varoufakis sent a letter to ministers explaining seven planned measures, but Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem has since described the proposals as “far from complete”. He said that given the way [...]
David Cameron’s free schools General Election pledge: Is there one in your area – and what kind is it? March 9, 2015 David Cameron today announced his government will build another 500 free schools if they win the next election – a policy Labour is staunchly opposed to. The schools, which are free from local authority control, are variously said to boost school places or be a waste of money that risk segregating children from the realities [...]
Ukip spoof Tory attack ad: Nigel Farage has some fun at Cameron’s expense March 9, 2015 The Tory party has been consistently attacking Ed Miliband over whether Labour will enter into a deal with the SNP if the General Election fails to produce a clear result. There was no let-up in the attack today as the Tories unveiled a new poster produced by advertising agency M&C Saatchi showing Ed Miliband in [...]
General Election 2015: David Cameron to open 500 extra free schools if Conservatives win March 9, 2015 The Conservatives are set to double down on free schools, opening a further 500 if they win the General Election. In a speech today, David Cameron said that the government plans to create 270,000 new school places, on top of the final wave of 49 free schools to be opened during the final throws of [...]
David Cameron set for double trouble over plain cigarette packaging and defence spending March 9, 2015 Disgruntled Tory backbenchers are set to defy David Cameron over two controversial issues this week, intensifying pressure on a Prime Minister who faces growing criticism for refusing to accept invitations to TV leaders debates. Around 100 Conservative MPs will vote against the government’s proposals to force cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging on Wednesday. [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Balls to launch assault on Tory spending plans March 9, 2015 Labour will today launch an assault on the Conservative’s proposed spending cuts, accusing the party of wanting to cut government spending to a “share of national income last seen in the 1930s – a time before there was an NHS.” Shadow chancellor Ed Balls will deliver the attack in a central London speech. Labour’s charge [...]
General Election 2015: Lib Dems aim for UK economy to lead Europe March 9, 2015 Nick Clegg and Vince Cable will today lay out the Liberal Democrat’s ambition to make Britain Europe’s largest economy over the next 20 years, and explain how they want the country to get there. The deputy prime minister and business secretary will put forward a five point plan that they believe will help the British [...]