Government decision to scrap Erasmus scheme will harm UK’s bottom line January 10, 2020 The UK has always lagged behind its European neighbours in foreign language learning, and the vote this week to eradicate the Erasmus scheme will only slow that adoption further. For many, Erasmus was an opportunity to live and learn a new culture and language, free from class and income boundaries. The programme gave the UK’s [...]
Reinvigorating the regions is crucial for the whole of our country January 10, 2020 The Prime Minister had victory to savour on holiday in Mustique, and when he returned foreign policy was very much top of the agenda, with the escalating tensions between Iran and the US. But if Boris Johnson is to remain in power for a decade, he must not take his eye off the ball domestically [...]
Three ways to prevent the UK from falling into data anarchy January 10, 2020 No business will admit to using personal data in ways that are unethical or discriminatory. But when every social media click, phone call, card payment, and gym visit pings into existence a new nugget of data, how can any of us be sure that our data is being used ethically? There are many excellent examples [...]
Hiring conditions improved following the Conservative election victory January 10, 2020 Hiring conditions in the UK job market improved following the Conservative victory in the General Election, a report published today showed. Permanent staff appointments rose for the first time in a year, while temp billings growth picked up from November, the survey from KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) found. According to some [...]
Ministry of Defence nuclear infrastructure projects set for delays of up to six years January 10, 2020 Three infrastructure projects which are together critical to the UK’s nuclear deterrent are set for delays of up to six years due to the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) “poor management.” According to a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO), the projects will be delivered between 1.7 and 6.3 years late, at an additional [...]
Mobile providers ‘marking their own homework’ over network coverage January 10, 2020 Millions of mobile users across the UK may not be receiving the coverage they are paying for due to failings by network providers, a new report has warned. The Local Government Association (LGA) today warned of weaknesses in so-called coverage checker websites, which use computer modelling to predict mobile signal strength. Read more: Ofcom to [...]
World leaders blame Iran for accidentally shooting down plane January 9, 2020 World leaders have lined up to blame Iran of accidentally shooting down the Ukrainian passenger plane which crashed outside Tehran with no survivors in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “there is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface to air [...]
Johnson’s Brexit bill passes Commons without fanfare January 9, 2020 Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was passed by MPs without fanfare on Thursday afternoon, with the Prime Minister not even marking the moment with a valedictory speech. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) passed its third reading in the Commons with 330 votes to 231, and will now move to the Lords for further scrutiny. It is [...]
Gardiner rules out Labour leadership contest, as Thornberry gives Corbyn ‘nought out of 10’ January 9, 2020 Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner has ruled himself out of the Labour leadership contest, saying he does not believe he can command enough support “at this late stage”. Gardiner admitted he was toying with running last night, with the deadline for applications closing on Monday. But this evening the frontbencher, who is thought to [...]
Hitachi Rail to slash 250 jobs at County Durham factory January 9, 2020 Hitachi Rail has announced that it will cut 250 jobs from its train factory in County Durham. The Newton Aycliffe plant, which opened in 2015, will make almost a quarter of its staff redundant following a 45-day consultation process with employees. Read more: Hitachi closes in on £200m West Coast franchise deal The Japanese conglomerate [...]