Tory chair Grant Shapps hints at Budget cut in alcohol duty March 11, 2015 Tory party chairman Grant Shapps has given a strong indication that there will be an alcohol duty cut on spirits in next week’s crucial pre-election Budget. Shapps, who also has some ministerial responsibility for trade, commented yesterday on the prospect of an alcohol rates cut: “You always have hope when there’s a Budget.Wait and see.” A [...]
Greek-German relations hit by Second World War reparation demands March 11, 2015 Greece’s relationship with Germany soured dramatically yesterday as the country’s justice minister raised the prospect of seizing German assets as reparations for the damage done by the Nazis in the Second World War. The two countries are at loggerheads over the renegotiation of Greece’s international bailout, and the chances of a successful resolution of the [...]
Cigarette plain packaging could leave UK government with £11bn legal bill March 11, 2015 Tobacco giants last night warned that the government could be landed with a huge legal bill, after plain packaging for cigarettes came a step closer yesterday with a vote in parliament backing the move. British American Tobacco (BAT) confirmed that if the House of Lords gives its final approval to the proposals next week, it [...]
Lord Mandelson doubts Labour can win the General Election March 11, 2015 The man who helped rebrand the Labour party and turn it into an election winning machine doubts his party can secure a majority at this year's General Election. Lord Peter Mandelson told the Retail Week conference: There will almost certainly be a stalemate hung Parliament in two months' time. Given the state of the polls, [...]
General Election 2015: Third of young people say social media will influence their vote March 11, 2015 There is a strong tradition of British elections adopting some of the more cutting edge political trends seen in the US. Labour and the Tories have both hired top political strategists from the Obama team to add a little stardust to the campaigns. Social media is also in the political parties' sights and rightly so, [...]
Millions of UK jobs NOT at risk from Brexit: Free market think-tank busts pro-EU myth March 11, 2015 The oft-repeated claim that 3m British jobs depend on Britain's membership of the EU has been challenged in a new report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The report's author, Ryan Bourne, calls on the public and commentators to challenge the assertion frequently made by pro-EU supporters. "It can be said with certainty that [...]
Cameron looks to increase defence spending – for free March 11, 2015 There is more than one way to skin a cat – and, it seems, plump up a defence budget. David Cameron has instructed ministers to find out whether the budgets of intelligence agencies can be lumped in as part of defence spending. The UK has come under pressure recently from the US to maintain its [...]
Ukip voters most likely to think apocalypse will happen in their lifetime March 10, 2015 Ukip voters are more likely to believe that world as we know it will end in their lifetime than supporters of the mainstream parties, according to a new survey. Almost a third of Ukip voters told polling company YouGov that an apocalyptic disaster will strike in their lifetime. This compares to 23 per cent of [...]
Brexit is biggest risk to financial services and City of London March 10, 2015 The financial services industry is the sector most in danger if Britain pulls out of the EU, a study has suggested. A report by Open Europe examining how the UK's key export sectors would fare after British withdrawal found that while all sectors would face some disruption, a divorce from the EU poses a particular [...]
Greece denies return of Troika as new talks with creditors to begin March 9, 2015 Greece will begin talks with representatives of its creditors tomorrow as it tries to have reform proposals approved, allowing it access urgently needed cash. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis yesterday denied that the it spelled a return of a the Troika – a term for its three main creditors that Varoufakis had said was “dead”. [...]