The voters aren’t stupid: David Cameron must hold his In/Out EU referendum now July 15, 2015 Between David Cameron’s election victory and his address at the recent summit in Brussels, the debate in Britain over its place in Europe has sparked into life. Polls suggest more than half the electorate support remaining in the EU. Business leaders’ views are varied, but one thing they all agree on is that prolonged uncertainty [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]
Iran’s nuclear deal: Everyone from Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin to Barack Obama and David Cameron has welcomed the agreement July 14, 2015 It's not often world leaders from the UK and US agree with those from Russia and Syria, but today is one of those rare moments. David Cameron, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad have all welcomed the historic nuclear deal inked between the world's leading powers and Iran today. This morning the [...]
Top UK firms to reveal wages for male and female employees as David Cameron vows to “end gender pay gap” July 13, 2015 Large companies will soon be required to publish what they pay male and female employees, under new rules to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today as part of a commitment to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”. The rules will apply to companies with more than 250 workers. A consultation with [...]
David Cameron’s housing construction shake-up fails to build market confidence: Experts disagree residential planning overhaul is game changer July 12, 2015 Housing developers had a bit of a rollercoaster ride last week. First the Budget rocked shares, with changes to tax relief on buy-to-let mortgages – and then, on Friday, the government unexpectedly put house building at the centre of its plan to boost the UK’s productivity. With the cost of a home jumping by 45 [...]
David Cameron backs transitional price cap as part of energy market shake-up after CMA report July 7, 2015 David Cameron said yesterday that he supported plans for a “transitional” energy price cap. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for changes to be made to companies’ standard variable, or default, tariff – the tariff that energy customers pay if they have not made an “active decision” to change. The CMA said [...]
Ukip leader Nigel Farage gets tough on Brexit: “David Cameron’s attempts at renegotiation are embarrassing” July 3, 2015 “By all accounts, Cameron got to say something at the renegotiation summit when the coffee was served. And as soon as he started to speak, Hollande went out for a pee, which shows you how seriously it was taken,” scoffs Ukip leader Nigel Farage. The renegotiation summit to which Farage refers took place last week [...]
One minute’s silence planned at midday for Tunisia attack victims, with Queen and David Cameron leading the silence July 3, 2015 Britons up and down the country will take part in a one minute's silence today to remember the 38 people who were killed in the attack on a beach in Tunisia last week. The Queen will lead the silence, which will take place at midday, with the Duke of Edinburgh at the University of [...]
David Cameron is heading for turbulence over Heathrow July 1, 2015 Sir Howard Davies did Prime Minister David Cameron no favours yesterday when he recommended building a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport, a proposal that Cameron had previously ruled out with “no ifs, no buts.” Davies’ conclusions shoved Cameron into yet another political firestorm, with pressure mounting last night from senior members of his own [...]