General Election 2015: Will the government raise the minimum wage? February 23, 2015 Minimum wage in the UK should rise by 20p to £6.70 an hour, according to the Low Pay Commission. The rise, the commission says, should take place in October, and would mean a pay rise for 1.2m workers. If the government decides to implement the rise, which it may do in next month’s budget, it [...]
Tories suspend Sir Malcom Rifkind as chief whip over cash for access claims February 23, 2015 The Conservative Party has suspended Sir Malcolm Rifkind from Parliament after he was caught in a "cash for access" sting. Rifkind and Labour MP Jack Straw were secretly filmed offering to use contacts and influence in exchange for payment from a private company. Both men have denied wrongdoing but have referred themselves to Parliament's standards watchdog. [...]
General Election 2015: ITV and BBC to show seven-way debates, Channel 4 and Sky share head-to-head February 23, 2015 ITV and BBC will broadcast two separate seven-way debates between political party leaders ahead of the general election, while Sky and Channel 4 will both share a head-to-head between David Cameron and Ed Miliband. The broadcasters drew lots to decide how to distribute coverage of the debates which will see party leaders given [...]
Rothschild eyes pre-election bonus payouts to avoid Ed Balls tax February 23, 2015 Financial giant Rothschild is considering whether to hand out 2014 bonuses to staff early in order to avoid potential taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the election. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has promised to introduce a £1.5bn to £2bn tax on bonuses during its first year in office to fund a “jobs [...]
Jack Straw suspends himself from Labour over cash for access claims February 23, 2015 Jack Straw has suspended himself from the Labour party over claims that he was preparing to offer his influence in return for money. The former foreign secretary, along with Tory MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind, were secretely filmed by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme in a joint investigation with the Daily Telegraph discussing how they would be [...]
UK investment bank Rothschild could pay bonuses early in case Labour wins February 22, 2015 UK investment bank Rothschild is weighing up paying staff bonuses early, in order to avoid new taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the general election. The Financial Times spoke with two sources “familiar with the bank’s thinking” and revealed the banks could pay bonuses to its 1,000 London staff before the traditional [...]
General Election 2015: These are the biggest pre-election business donations to Conservatives and Labour February 20, 2015 The Conservative and Labour party are neck-and-neck when it comes to the value of donations made by businesses ahead of May's General Election. While the Conservatives are out funded by Labour in overall donations, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission, the main political parties are on an almost level pegging when it [...]
Labour rakes in more money than Tories in pre-election battle February 19, 2015 The Labour party received more money in the last quarter of 2014 than the Conservatives, new figures revealed yesterday. Electoral Commission data revealed that £10.9m was received by Labour between October and December 2014, compared to £8.4m for the Tories over the same time period. The Labour sum includes £3.7m of public money, from a [...]
Labour’s shadow transport minister Michael Dugher wants the state to run rail franchises February 18, 2015 Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher yesterday ramped up Labour’s rhetoric against rail franchises, suggesting the party could move contracts from private sector firms back to the state sector if it gains power after May’s General Election. “The public sector will be running sections of our rail network as soon as we can do that,” Dugher [...]
Labour ups the HSBC pressure on George Osborne over tax evasion row February 17, 2015 Labour’s Ed Balls has increased the pressure on George Osborne in the HSBC tax evasion row, calling on the chancellor to answer key questions. Labour are attempting to up the ante on Osborne, who has barely been seen over the course of the eight-day-long political row. HSBC’s Swiss branch is accused of helping customers evade [...]