General Election 2015: What does Tony Blair really think of Ed Miliband? April 7, 2015 Labour's most electorally successful leader has re-entered the fray of British politics, warning voters that another Tory government will jeopardise the UK's relationship with the EU. In a speech at the Excel Centre in his former constituency of Sedgefield today, Tony Blair will also praise Labour leader Ed Miliband for showing "real leadership" for ruling [...]
General Election 2015: Nicola Sturgeon vows the SNP will block a raise of the state pension age in the UK April 7, 2015 The SNP will block planned raises of the UK pension age, if it wins enough seats in the General Election to do so, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday. The Scottish first minister, argued Scots will be disadvantaged by the rises, as they have the lowest life expectancy in the UK. A baby girl can expect to [...]
Michael Bloomberg’s mayor of London bid played down by former New York deputy and colleague Howard Wolfson April 7, 2015 Will he or won’t he? That’s the question people are asking about Michael Bloomberg after suggestions he might be lining himself up to run as the Conservatives’ candidate for mayor of London. The whispers began after it was reported that friends of Bloomberg, founder of the financial news agency, were urging him to consider the [...]
General Election 2015: George Osborne says Labour raised taxes by £2,000 as tax row escalates April 7, 2015 Goerge Osborne will today claim that New Labour hiked taxes on earnings for an average household by £1,895 a year in real-terms, as the row between the parties over tax escalates. The new figures come from the House of Commons library. The Tories say they hint at what Labour would do if it wins the [...]
Both parents can now take parental leave from work April 7, 2015 Both parents can now request equal paid time off work when they have a new baby, under laws that came into force this weekend. The laws, which will apply to all babies whose due date was on 5 April 2015 or later, allows parents to split up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks [...]
General election 2015: Treasury minister David Gauked asks ONS boss to check Ed Miliband’s numbers April 7, 2015 Treasury minister David Gauke has written to the UK Statistics Authority, complaining about the way Labour leader Ed Miliband presented Office for National Statistics (ONS) data at an election rally this weekend. In the letter addressed to the Authority’s chair Sir Andrew Dilnot, seen by City A.M., Gauke asked him to “make it publicly [...]
Parliamentary candidate Mike Whitehead switches to Ukip following row with Conservative party April 6, 2015 Former Tory parliamentary candidate Mike Whitehead has joined Ukip, following a dispute with the local Conservative group in his Yorkshire constituency. Until last week, Whitehead was standing for the Conservative party in Hull West and Hessle, but was reportedly “sacked” for not supporting the party's local council candidate. "This man is not our candidate [...]
General Election 2015: Lib Dems and Conservatives clash over personal tax allowance April 5, 2015 The Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of unfairly taking credit for changes to personal tax allowance in the UK. In 2016/2017, the minimum income at which people have to start paying tax will go up from £10,600 to £10,800. This will rise again to £11,000 in 2017/2018. The move was introduced by the coalition [...]
General Election 2015: Osborne promises to get 2.4m first-time buyers onto housing ladder with property “revolution” April 5, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to bring about a “property revolution” in the UK, helping 2.4m more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said he intended to double the number of first time buyers to 500,000 a year over the next five years, should the [...]
Shared parental leave has started – here’s what you need to know about the new law April 5, 2015 Today is the start of shared parental leave – a new law that will allow couples to split childcare responsibilities more evenly. Under the rules, which were first put forward by the Liberal Democrats while in coalition, up to 50 weeks of leave can be shared between two parents. This is additional to the compulsory [...]