UK sells off £750m stake in Eurostar in boost to George Osborne’s “long-term economic plan” March 3, 2015 The government is set to sell its stake in Eurostar for £757.1m as part of the coalition’s pledge to raise £20bn from asset sales by 2020. A consortium comprising Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and British fund Hermes Infrastructure will buy the UK’s 40 per cent stake in the rail [...]
George Osborne slammed for claiming to have halved £1.7bn EU bill February 26, 2015 George Osborne will come under attack today over his claim to have halved a £1.7bn EU bill that landed on the chancellor’s desk last autumn. A powerful group of MPs led by Tory MP Andrew Tyrie will praise the Treasury for delaying the payments until later this year, but will shoot down Osborne’s bolder claim [...]
As RBS reports a £3.5bn loss, is George Osborne right that senior executives should not get bonuses? February 26, 2015 Steve Davies, education director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes The question is not whether bonuses are the correct way to remunerate people. It is whether RBS should be making such payments when the bank is incurring serious losses. Clearly, the answer should be no. When a business is in financial straits, the [...]
George Osborne misses minimum wage target for 2015 February 23, 2015 The Low Pay Commission (LPC) announced yesterday that the minimum wage for workers over 21 years old should be raised by 20p to £6.70 an hour, a three per cent rise. George Osborne has previously indicated he would like it to be higher. In January last year the chancellor said in an interview: “If the [...]
George Osborne challenges Ed Balls to say sorry over HSBC Swiss tax evasion scandal February 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne hit back at Labour over HSBC’s Swiss private bank yesterday, arguing that the wrongdoing took place and the taxman received the leaked documents under Labour, not the Tories, and Lord Green was given an advisory job by Gordon Brown. It comes after a fortnight of Labour accusing Osborne of failing to act [...]
HSBC case: Osborne could include new tax rules in budget February 23, 2015 New measures to tackle tax avoidance look set to be included in George Osborne’s budget next month in the wake of the HSBC tax case. As Osborne made his parliamentary response to the HSBC allegations he clashed with Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor. Balls accused Osborne of negligence, which moved Osborne to claim the government [...]
24 Hour Party People? George Osborne and Boris Johnson confirm plans to turn London into 24-hour city February 20, 2015 London is just months away from taking tentative steps towards becoming a 24-hour capital, and the government is already planning the next phase. Chancellor George Osborne and London mayor Boris Johnson this morning confirmed a wider rollout of the 24 hour service across the Tube and Overground lines from 2017. That will follow [...]
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 [...]
George Osborne sets sights on pensioner votes with extension of 65+ bonds deadline past General Election day February 8, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne yesterday revealed that the government will now be offering £15bn worth of controversial so-called pensioner bonds, with an extended application deadline that falls on 15 May – one week after the General Election. The 65+ guaranteed growth bonds, as they are officially known, offer marketing leading rates, at 2.8 per cent interest [...]
George Osborne: Pensioner bond scheme to be extended to after general election February 8, 2015 The government will continue to offer its pensioner bonds for a further three months after more than 600,000 people signed up to the scheme. George Osborne revealed that the deadline for over 65s to apply for the scheme has been extended until after the general election in May due to its popularity. [...]