Prime Minister rules out another general election after ‘giveaway’ Budget October 30, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond today ruled out another UK general election a day after revealing what has been dubbed a "giveaway" Budget. May told a press conference in Oslo: "No. We are not preparing for another general election. That would not be in the national interest." Being interviewed on Good Morning [...]
‘The Nothing of Tesla’: Elon Musk deletes his Tesla job titles after being stripped of chairmanship October 30, 2018 Tesla founder Elon Musk had deleted his job titles at the car giant just to “see what would happen”. The stunt, announced on Twitter, comes after Musk recently agreed to step down as chairman of the electric car manufacturer to prevent further action from a US regulator. He announced: “Deleted my Tesla titles last week to see what [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan’s green war on diesel cars finally hits home October 30, 2018 Sad news in my household: Moonie is not long for this world. The time is fast approaching when I must put her out of her misery, despite the fact that she seems pretty robust regardless of her ageing years. Like Boxer in “Animal Farm,” I will soon load her up into her metaphorical horse box, send [...]
US restricts Chinese chip maker from buying American parts October 30, 2018 The US is to curb American firms from exporting goods to a state-supported Chinese chip maker over national security concerns, in a move that is likely to exacerbate the brewing trade war tensions between Beijing and Washington, D.C. In a statement this morning the US Commerce Department said Chinese company Fujian Jinhua would not be [...]
DEBATE: As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? October 30, 2018 As we head towards a cashless society, is there any point to a commemorative Brexit coin? Callum Price, events manager at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. There is no doubt that we are heading towards an increasingly cashless society, but we are far away from the point at which we will no longer [...]
This Budget balancing act was Hammond’s mission impossible October 30, 2018 As he stood up to deliver his Autumn Budget yesterday, the chancellor was to fulfil two promises which the Prime Minister had made at the Conservative party conference earlier this month: end austerity, while still reducing public debt as a share of GDP. Fulfilling these pledges will take time, and more details will be unveiled [...]
Hammond shows how to ease austerity the Conservative way October 30, 2018 The Philip Hammond of a few years ago would have seen a few billion pounds courtesy of an unexpected windfall and promptly locked it away, like the chairman of the bank in Mary Poppins. But something has changed. Yesterday, Hammond was more Tigger than Eeyore. He announced a whopping £30bn of extra public spending by [...]
Fiscal Phil brings MPs sunshine, but only if they back him on Brexit October 29, 2018 Philip Hammond is a man more comfortable poring over spreadsheets than performing stand-up. He prefers an abacus to a microphone and an audience. But at times like these, when the staff need a morale boost, even the most bookish company finance director must come down to the shop floor to remind the workers just what [...]
Philip Hammond chooses to splash the cash in his Budget rather than pay down the deficit October 29, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond declared “austerity is coming to an end” as he unveiled a raft of spending increases and tax cuts on Monday. Hammond used better-than-expected tax revenues of £12bn to pour extra cash into the NHS and bring forward by a year an increase in the 40p tax threshold to £50,000. The new level will [...]
National living wage to rise almost five per cent next year October 29, 2018 The national living wage is set to rise nearly five per cent from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour, chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in today's Budget. To be implemented in April next year, the government estimated that this will increase the annual pay of a person in full-time employment by £690 per year. Additionally, Hammond said the [...]