Labour’s Sadiq Khan can’t be trusted to deliver for Londoners – but Zac is a man I can do business with May 4, 2016 When I first became chancellor six years ago, I inherited a British economy and a London economy that were on their knees. It’s why on day one we immediately put a plan in place to rescue the public finances while laying the foundations for recovery. London led that recovery, bouncing back first and fastest. With [...]
The government’s restaurant tipping crackdown is a far worse idea than you think May 4, 2016 Not content with setting the wages in future of up to 20 per cent of the private sector workforce through its National Living Wage, the government has now decided to clamp down on tipping practices in restaurants – opening up a new front in pay regulation. The business secretary Sajid Javid wants steps taken to [...]
There’s little logic to 2016’s shareholder revolts against big executive pay-outs May 4, 2016 Reporting of the crisis at BHS has focused as much on the ethics of Sir Philip Green’s behaviour as it has on the plight of the company itself. Sir John Collins, who put Green’s name forward for a knighthood, has said he should be stripped of it if his handling of the beleaguered company is [...]
After a difficult first quarter for UK-based banks, is the outlook finally beginning to brighten? May 4, 2016 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. There is no doubt things are tough in the banking industry. But while performance in the first quarter was poor, it was generally ahead of expectations, which serves to underline the level of pessimism surrounding the sector. Progress has been slow since the financial crisis, and there [...]
Britain’s challenger banks had a bumper 2015 – but now they’re facing the challenges of scale May 4, 2016 Amid the misery and bad news associated with UK banks since the crisis, one of the positive rays of light has been the challenger banks. They have grown quickly, with several listing last year as the sector continues to attract both customer and investor interest. The challengers have also long been feted by politicians as [...]
The EEF has clashed with the government over the flagship apprenticeship levy scheme May 4, 2016 Manufacturers have called on the government to delay the introduction of the apprenticeship levy as just one per cent of employers said they backed the policy in its current form. Manufacturers’ body, the EEF, has today ramped up its warnings over the levy, saying that the government faces a “looming car crash” after it found [...]
Extended right to buy scheme could cost London councils just shy of £50m each May 4, 2016 Councils in London will need to fork out £49m a year on average to fund government’s planned extensions to the right to buy scheme, a report out today by Shelter has warned. Under the right to buy extension, local authorities will be forced to sell off a proportion of their vacant council house stock on the open [...]
Even the national living wage can’t stop shops from cutting prices May 4, 2016 Prices on the high-street fell in April, despite the introduction of the living wage, according to the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), published today. Retailers cut prices by 1.7 per cent over the past year — the same rate of discounting as a month earlier and the 36th consecutive period of falling [...]
Transport Select Committee urges government to provide clear timetable for south east airport expansion plan May 4, 2016 The government's failure to set out a clear timetable for airport expansion has been blasted as a “squandered opportunity” by top MPs. In a report released today by the Transport Select Committee, which backs the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, ministers are urged to make a decision as soon as possible to end decades of “political dithering”. [...]
Why George Osborne thinks Zac Goldsmith, not Sadiq Khan, can deliver the best deal for London May 4, 2016 George Osborne has urged Londoners to vote for fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith in the London mayoral election on Thursday to help the government deliver “the best possible deal for London”. Writing in City A.M., the chancellor said he wants a mayor “who wants to work with me to get things done” and questioned what sort of [...]