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 [...]
Ukip The First 100 Days: 1,000 complaints over Farage “what if” TV documentary made to Channel 4 and Ofcom February 17, 2015 A television show about Ukip has prompted more than a 1,000 complaints after being broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday night. The fictional documentary, which imagined the first 100 days of a Ukip government if the party were to sweep to power in May's General Election, received 731 complaints Ofcom has said. Another 250 complaints were [...]
Small parties to be squeezed as election nears February 16, 2015 A NEW poll published last night shows that Britain’s smaller parties are being squeezed as the General Election nears. Parties such as the Greens and Ukip have seen their potential vote shares rocket in recent times – yet voters could be turning back to the bigger parties, a poll by ICM revealed. The survey showed Ukip and [...]
General Election 2015: Businesses don’t actually hate Ed Miliband’s economic plan February 16, 2015 Labour may have come under fierce criticism for his approach to business (see "50p rate of tax") but it turns out the private sector wasn't totally turned off by Ed Miliband's latest proposals. Speaking to an audience at the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Wolverhampton (very "man of the people"), Miliband set out a raft [...]
Ukip The First 100 Days: Channel 4’s Farage “what if” TV documentary has already attracted 19 complaints to Ofcom February 16, 2015 Can you imagine a Ukip future? Now you don’t have to. In what’s being called a "fictional docudrama" – aka a "mocumentary" – a new television show will take the hypothetical situation of Ukip sweeping to power in the next election and run with it. The show, due to air at 9pm on Monday night [...]
General Election 2015: Three things we learned about Ed Miliband from his Obama strategist David Axelrod in his interview with the Guardian February 16, 2015 The man who helped get Obama elected and invented what’s probably the most famous political slogan of our times – “Yes We Can” – is on the campaign trail (sort of) with Ed Miliband as the Labour leader’s hot-shot election strategist. Miliband hired the political heavyweight David Axelrod as an adviser in a bid to [...]
Labour promises to keep corporation taxes low in bid to shed anti-business image February 16, 2015 Labour today promised to keep corporate taxes competitive should the party win the general election, but to shift the focus to small firms and workers. In a bid to counter the party’s anti-business image, Ed Miliband pledged to implement an industrial policy which he said would help firms of all sizes, as well as lower-paid [...]
Revamped Institute of Directors finds its voice in time for general election February 15, 2015 With its grand architecture, and seemingly arcane rules, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has often felt more like a gentleman’s club than a political body. However, under director general Simon Walker, the renowned business institution is getting a bit of a shake-up. Previously characterised as a rather safe organisation, the IoD has been far more [...]
General Election 2015: David Cameron’s approval rating at its highest for four years – poll February 15, 2015 He who laughs last in May will laugh the loudest, but David Cameron may allow himself a wry chuckle today after the results of a new poll put his personal rating at 41per cent, 18 points higher than that of Ed Miliband. According to the Opinium poll for the Observer, Cameron’s rating is the highest [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Miliband promises review of HMRC after HSBC tax avoidance row February 14, 2015 Labour has set its sights on the tax inspector, promising a “root and branch” review of HMRC following criticism of the investigation it made into tax avoidance which came to light from the HSBC Swiss bank leaks. Miliband made the pledge speaking at the Welsh Labour Conference in Swansea as the issue of tax avoidance [...]