General Election 2015: Is the Labour Party divided as Chuka Umunna splits with Ed Miliband on 50p tax rate? April 15, 2015 Labour's shadow business secretary has left the door open to a future Labour government dropping the 50p top rate of income tax once the deficit is significantly reduced. The 50p rate was introduced during the dying days of Gordon Brown's government and was later cut by the coalition to 45p. The 50p rate was popular [...]
General Election 2015: Nicola Sturgeon hits out at Ukip manifesto pledge to scrap Barnett Formula April 15, 2015 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at Nigel Farage wanting to replace the Barnett Formula. The Barnett Formula is the mechanism devised in the late 1970s that decides how much cash will be doled out to each nation of the UK on the basis of population and which powers have been devolved. Ukip's manifesto [...]
General Election 2015: EU membership referendum would be too close to call – poll April 15, 2015 Any referendum on a possible Brexit from the European Union (EU) would be far too close to call, according to a new opinion poll. The survey, by Populus for the Financial Times, showed that 39 per cent of those polled would vote to leave the EU, with 40 per cent preferring to stay. The anti-Europe [...]
General Election 2015: How are Ukip and Nigel Farage doing in the “people’s army’s” target seats? April 15, 2015 Last year Ukip’s plans to storm to 12 seats at this year’s General Election were revealed, but as the election draws near, how is the party faring across those constituencies? Ukip won its first MP in October when Douglas Carswell won a landslide victory in Clacton. This was followed up by a less decisive, but [...]
Lib Dem manifesto: Nick Clegg pledges £2.5bn to boost British schools April 14, 2015 The Liberal Democrats will focus their General Election pitch on education, promising an additional £2.5bn of funding during the next parliament. Launching their manifesto today, the party says it will protect per pupil funding for pupils aged two to 19 in real terms over the next parliament. Echoing Tony Blair’s famous “education, education, education” mantra, [...]
General Election 2015: Better Capital founder Jon Moulton wants simplified legislation and free trade with Europe April 14, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 22 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. JON MOULTON: FOUNDER OF BETTER CAPITAL This is to the party of my upbringing and closest to my beliefs [...]
Natalie Bennett struggles to explain how the Green Party will pay for “post-Thatcherite” Britain April 14, 2015 Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has struggled to explain how the massive tax rises proposed in her party's manifesto would generate enough revenue to fund the Greens' extravagant spending plans. The Greens want the top tax rate raised to 60p, introduce a wealth tax of 1-2 per cent on people worth £3m, introduce a financial [...]
Russell Brand teams up with cryptocurrency firm to fund global revolution April 14, 2015 Self-styled anti-capitalist revolutionary Russell Brand has teamed up with cryptocurrency and crowdfunding platforms to raise funds for his beloved revolution. Brand and his YouTube show the Trews have partnered with Startjoin – a cryptocurrency crowdfunding platform – as well as the cryptocurrency itself Startcoin to raise money for the cause. Russell Brand @RustyRockets, @Trews, @StartJOIN & [...]
Was a part of the Conservative manifesto borrowed from an Obama campaign ad? April 14, 2015 Most of the focus on the Tory manifesto has been on the pledges to extend right-to-buy, double free child care and spend another £8bn on the NHS. But one of the stranger aspects of the Conservative manifesto can be found on page three. The heading declares in rather Orwellian fashion "we have a plan for [...]
Is it too late for the Tories to win the General Election? Watch Michael Gove answer yes April 14, 2015 Michael Gove has been caught in a classic slip of the tongue on the General Election campaign trail. The BBC's political reporter Chris Gibson asked the Tory big beast: Too late to win the election? Gove's response was, to say the least, not on message. I suspect Michael Gove may have misheard me or has [...]