Putin is about to win his cynical bet in Ukraine: The West is truly dead August 23, 2015 I am becoming worryingly convinced that Vladimir Putin must be a big fan of this column. Just a few days on from me revealing that he is odds-on favourite to become the super-villain in the next Bond caper, the Russian President confirmed my worst suspicions. Falling back on one of his late-Roger-Moore-era stunts, Putin piloted [...]
City Matters: The five key commitments the City wants from the next mayor of London August 23, 2015 We only have to wait until the end of September before we know who is going to represent the two main political parties in the race to become the next mayor of London. These aspiring London politicians with ambitions to succeed Boris Johnson are gearing themselves up for a busy few months. From now until [...]
Labour frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn calls current levels of corporate pay “ludicrous” August 23, 2015 In an interview today, Jeremy Corbyn attacked corporate pay and claimed bankers need to wake up to Britain's “gross inequalities”. Speaking to the FT, the Labour frontrunner described the salaries and bonuses out by some businesses as “ludicrous”, and said he is investigating every organisation. I do think the salary level and the bonus [...]
US presidential election: More people are searching for Deez Nuts than for Hillary Clinton – or even Donald Trump August 22, 2015 More people are interested in Deez Nuts than Hillary Clinton, according to Google. Not only is the high school student trolling the entire American presidential election under the pseudonym “Deez Nuts” unexpectedly surging in the polls – search interest in him has also become higher than in Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Deez Nuts has [...]
Public sector borrowing: Government finances show a July surplus for the first time since 2012 – these five charts show the state the UK’s finances are in August 21, 2015 Figures published this morning showed the government's finances moved into surplus for the first July since 2012, with public sector net borrowing showing a surplus of just under £1.3bn, a fall in borrowing of £1.4bn compared with the same period last year. That's partly down to tax receipts, which rose to £7.8bn in July, £1.2bn [...]
Chancellor George Osborne’s tax breaks for British film industry given go-ahead by EU August 21, 2015 A new higher rate of film tax relief has been given the go ahead by the European Union. The scheme, first announced in the March Budget, will enable film companies to claim tax relief of 25 per cent on production costs. Chancellor George Osborne confirmed that the EU had agreed the move this morning. "British [...]
Jeremy Corbyn will apologise for Iraq War on behalf of Labour if he wins leadership contest August 20, 2015 Labour leader frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn has promised to apologise for the Iraq War on behalf of the party if he becomes leader. Corbyn will issue a statement saying sorry for the invasion of Iraq if he wins the battle to succeed Ed Miliband as party leader in the hotly contested race. He told the Guardian: [...]
Political meddling threatens London City Airport’s future: It’s a depressingly familiar story August 20, 2015 The latest twist in the London City Airport saga was laid out in these pages yesterday, with the news that a number of international parties are looking to bid for the site. But any sale, and the future of the airport, is heavily dependent on its prospects for growth. Those growth prospects ought to [...]
George Osborne wants to build more homes in the countryside August 20, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne wants to reform planning laws and make it easier for villages to build new houses. The chancellor said more people are moving to the countryside with rural areas of England experiencing net internal migration of more than 60,000 a year. "This government is determined to support the millions that already choose a [...]
London City Airport expansion plans stay grounded following Mayor Boris Johnson’s U-turn August 20, 2015 The battle for London City Airport is heating up. Less than a month has passed since its owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Oaktree Capital put the site to the east of the capital up for sale with a price tag of around £2bn. But already two heavyweight bidders have emerged, including one of the [...]