MPs accuse government of using Brexit as an ‘excuse’ to avoid Russian sanctions May 14, 2019 More than 50 MPs have urged the government to stop using Brexit as an "excuse" not to impose sanctions against Russian figures accused of human rights violations. The head of the all party Russia group, Chris Bryant, has demanded action from foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in the wake of the Novichok attack on Salisbury last year. Along with [...]
UK wages rise again as employment rate stays at record high says Office for National Statistics May 14, 2019 UK wages rose 3.2 per cent in the year to March, slightly down from a 3.5 per cent rise in the month before, data showed today as the unemployment rate hit an almost 45-year low. Read more: UK inflation rate holds steady sending Britons' real wages higher Average weekly earnings climbed 1.3 per cent year [...]
Could Capita’s move to put workers to boards fix capitalism’s crisis? May 14, 2019 Capitalism is being questioned in Britain more intensely than for decades. Some want to destroy it. Others believe that it is the only economic system which works, but want to reform it. I am in the latter camp. Part of the debate around Brexit has centred on preserving workers’ rights, enshrined in EU law. But rights [...]
Churchill knew that design was crucial to Britain’s global future – and so should we May 14, 2019 In 1944, when the UK was facing extremely uncertain times, Winston Churchill’s government founded the Council of Industrial Design. The plan was to invest heavily in design to ensure that we were making the best quality products that would allow us to win major industrial contracts in post-war Europe. It worked. Even after an election [...]
London pulls away from rest of UK in wealth, says first paper in major inequality study May 14, 2019 London has been far more economically productive than the rest of the country over the last two decades while earnings in the capital are much higher than elsewhere, a new study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has shown. Read more: Hammond has the cash to end austerity, IFS says The IFS has today [...]
Brexit talks: Still no progress in discussions between the Conservatives and Labour May 13, 2019 Brexit talks between the Conservative and Labour frontbenches ended in stalemate yet again on Monday despite frantic speculation a crunch vote was set for later this week. Tory MPs were told a three-line whip was in operation for Thursday – meaning an important vote was scheduled – before it was downgraded to a one-line whip. [...]
Conservatives sink to fifth in London, shows latest Euro election poll May 13, 2019 The Conservatives have slipped to a humiliating fifth place in London, according to a new opinion poll ahead of the European elections. Read more: Tories fall to fifth place in polls as Brexit party snaps up voters A survey carried out by Yougov shows that just 10 per cent of Londoners are planning to back [...]
Tories fall to fifth place in opinion polls as Nigel Farage’s Brexit party snaps up voters May 13, 2019 The Conservatives have slumped to fifth place in an opinion poll ahead of the European elections later this month. Read more: Cabinet allies begin to abandon May as Tories languish in polls The Tories were placed at just 10 per cent, behind almost every major political party, according to a Yougov poll commissioned by the [...]
Sir Keir Starmer: Labour MPs would reject Brexit deal without second referendum May 13, 2019 Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has warned up to 150 Labour MPs would reject any Brexit agreement that did not include a second referendum. Starmer said more than two-thirds of Labour MPs could oppose any deal that did not include a public vote, meaning it would be unlikely to pass through Parliament. Read more: [...]
UK business confidence lowest since 2012 as output drops for first time in 2019, says BDO May 13, 2019 Business optimism in the UK fell to its lowest rate since 2012 in April, according to a report released today, in a sign that the Brexit extension has done little to cheer up the country’s gloomy businesses. Read more: UK economy bounces back, but is growth just a ‘flash in the pan’? UK business output [...]