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 [...]
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 [...]