Brexit bites: Tories and Labour suffer local election backlash amid deadlocked negotiations May 3, 2019 Voters expressed their frustration with Theresa May’s Conservative party and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour at the ballot box yesterday, it has emerged, as results continue to pour in across the UK. So far both major parties have accepted they have suffered a backlash over gridlocked Brexit negotiations, with representatives having made little progress in cross-party talks. [...]
S4 Capital continues to grow profits as it lands big-name client wins May 3, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising firm S4 Capital has posted another quarter of bumper revenue and profit growth as it looks to win over big clients with its digital-first approach. Read more: Sir Martin Sorrell was paid £140,000 by S4 Capital in 2018 The figures S4 Capital posted like-for-like revenue growth of 35 per cent to [...]
The tangled Huawei web isn’t just about Gavin Williamson May 3, 2019 To say that Gavin Williamson was neither widely liked nor widely respected in Westminster would be an understatement. Often a figure of ridicule for the pet tarantula kept on his desk when he was chief whip, his former life as a fireplace salesman, and gaffes like saying Russia should “go away and shut up”, he [...]
It’s time to fix regulation and scrap socialism for the banks May 3, 2019 For too long, it has been possible for bankers to make massive profits while socialising losses through subsidies, deposit schemes, public ownership, and bailouts in times of crisis. This creates a moral hazard: bankers are encouraged by the regulatory regime to take on excessive risk, allowed to issue limited equity, and in case of a [...]
Revealed: Elon Musk’s half-a-billion dollar debt to banks helping Tesla fundraise May 3, 2019 Tesla boss Elon Musk personally owes $507m (£389m) to the Wall Street banks helping the electric car firm raise up to $2.3bn, it emerged yesterday. Read more: Tesla looks to strengthen with $2.3bn fundraising round The lending was disclosed in a Tesla prospectus for the fundraising, and showed the debt to be $117m less than [...]
Crossrail: Watchdog blasts bosses for ‘driving up costs’ on London’s £17.6bn delayed Elizabeth Line May 3, 2019 Crossrail bosses took decisions that drove unnecessary cost into the troubled £17.6bn railway, a report by Whitehall's spending watchdog has found. A catalogue of errors including a "failure to change course" when it was clear the project was de-railing, as well as flaws in its own commercial strategy, led to cost increases and the current uncertainty [...]
Margaret Thatcher voted top Prime Minister on 40th anniversary of her first election win May 3, 2019 Margaret Thatcher has been ranked as the UK’s greatest post-war Prime Minister in a survey marking the 40th anniversary of her first election victory. Read more: CBI expresses 'deep concern' at prospect of Prime Minister Boris Johnson A Yougov poll placed Thatcher top of the pile, with 21 per cent of respondents saying she was [...]
Pennies saved as Philip Hammond sets up committee to protect access to cash May 3, 2019 Cash machines will be protected by a new government-led committee, Philip Hammond will announce today as he unveils a new taskforce to safeguard access to physical money. The Treasury-led group will coordinate work across the country to ensure people can still get to their cash in an increasingly digital payment focused economy. The Chancellor will [...]
Corbyn’s past just keeps tripping him up May 2, 2019 The charge sheet is grim. He defended a mural depicting hook-nosed Jewish bankers playing monopoly on the backs of the poor. He claimed Israel exerts “unbelievably high levels of influence” over “the upper echelons of parts of the media”. He presides over a party struggling to deal with complaints of antisemitism among its members and [...]
Gavin Williamson claims a police investigation into claims he leaked would clear his name May 2, 2019 Disgraced former defence secretary Gavin Williamson has challenged Theresa May to trigger a police investigation into claims he leaked information from a top secret government committee. Williamson, who was dramatically axed from the cabinet on Wednesday, believes May would have to give him the “nicest apology” after a Met inquiry as it would clear him [...]