General Election 2015: Is the Labour Party divided as Chuka Umunna splits with Ed Miliband on 50p tax rate? April 15, 2015 Labour's shadow business secretary has left the door open to a future Labour government dropping the 50p top rate of income tax once the deficit is significantly reduced. The 50p rate was introduced during the dying days of Gordon Brown's government and was later cut by the coalition to 45p. The 50p rate was popular [...]
General Election 2015: Nicola Sturgeon hits out at Ukip manifesto pledge to scrap Barnett Formula April 15, 2015 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at Nigel Farage wanting to replace the Barnett Formula. The Barnett Formula is the mechanism devised in the late 1970s that decides how much cash will be doled out to each nation of the UK on the basis of population and which powers have been devolved. Ukip's manifesto [...]
Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer: These are the richest women in tech April 15, 2015 Women at the top of tech industry are raking in billions. Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman is the top earner with an estimated net worth of $1.3bn (£800m). The bulk of her handsome remuneration package comes from profits from the sales of her shares in eBay, which she led between 1998 and 2008 during a period of [...]
This video posted by Elon Musk shows SpaceX’s Falcon rocket booster very nearly landing on a tiny platform in the middle of the ocean April 15, 2015 Disappointment all round at SpaceX HQ yesterday, when a rocket booster launched by the company didn't quite touch down properly on a pad – dubbed "Just Read the Instructions" thanks to the mantra printed on it – floating 50 miles out to sea. The rocket booster, which had just come from launching an International Space [...]
General Election 2015: How are Ukip and Nigel Farage doing in the “people’s army’s” target seats? April 15, 2015 Last year Ukip’s plans to storm to 12 seats at this year’s General Election were revealed, but as the election draws near, how is the party faring across those constituencies? Ukip won its first MP in October when Douglas Carswell won a landslide victory in Clacton. This was followed up by a less decisive, but [...]
Boris questioned cost of key tory pledge April 14, 2015 LONDON mayor Boris Johnson insisted yesterday that he backs the Conservatives’ plan to allow housing association tenants the right to buy their homes. Johnson had previously said that extending the scheme “would involve massive subsidies”, but tweeted last night: “Brilliant Conservative policy on the Right to Buy, and a good way of ensuring it is [...]
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis heads to Washington ahead of crunch talks April 14, 2015 Greece’s finance minister Yanis Varoufakis will jet off to the US tonight to meet President Barack Obama, as well as the lawyer who helped Greece restructure its debt in 2012. Varoufakis will meet Obama tomorrow. It will be followed by meetings with European Central Bank head Mario Draghi on Friday, Secretary of the Treasury Jack [...]
Was a part of the Conservative manifesto borrowed from an Obama campaign ad? April 14, 2015 Most of the focus on the Tory manifesto has been on the pledges to extend right-to-buy, double free child care and spend another £8bn on the NHS. But one of the stranger aspects of the Conservative manifesto can be found on page three. The heading declares in rather Orwellian fashion "we have a plan for [...]
Conservative manifesto clash? Boris Johnson said right-to-buy extension could be “extremely costly” April 14, 2015 Boris Johnson previously expressed serious doubts about the merits of one of the flagship policies in the Conservative manifesto. David Cameron said today a future Conservative government would extend Margaret Thatcher's famous right-to-buy scheme. The policy would allow housing association tenants to buy their homes at a massive discount. But Boris Johnson, London's Mayor and [...]
Mike Ashley’s Mash Holdings doubles profits after “gift” transfer of Sports Direct shares to Mash Beta April 14, 2015 Mike Ashley doubled his profits last year through his holding company through which he holds his stakes in Newcastle United and Sports Direct. Mash Holdings' profit before tax soared 111 per cent to £542.7m for the year to April 30 2014, up from £256.4m in 2012/2013. It included the profit raised from Ashley's move [...]