This election is a battle Labour does not deserve to win November 22, 2019 In 2004, the US chat show host Oprah Winfrey gave away a brand new car to each member of her studio audience. It was badged as an act of unparalleled generosity — though, as is the way of these things, the reality was more complicated. Gift taxes hit recipients hard — and the cars themselves [...]
A welcome revival for tax-cutting instincts November 21, 2019 Tax cuts — remember them? So far, this has not been an election campaign to warm the hearts of those who yearn for a smaller state, whether it comes to the government’s outgoings or its revenue-raising appetite. The Liberal Democrats yesterday joined the political pole vault contest in which parties promise to spend ever higher, [...]
Prince Andrew steps back from Royal duties but will continue business role November 20, 2019 PRINCE Andrew last night said he will step back from Royal duties as corporate sponsors continued to sever ties with his entrepreneurship schemes following his widely criticised BBC interview. The announcement from the palace came hours after two more FTSE 100 companies abandoned the prince amid the fallout from his Newsnight grilling over links to [...]
Our Westminster politicians must pay heed to the Union November 14, 2019 Pollsters at election time are a funny breed. Like Father Christmas, they drop nuggets of data into the hands of grateful journalists and analysts hoping to make sense of what is going on around them, trying to drown out the noise of election campaigns and listen to what really matters. Yet the most interesting — [...]
Experts split on impact of Farage’s decision to stand-down candidates November 11, 2019 Pollsters and Westminster strategists were split this afternoon over the impact of Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage’s decision not to stand candidates in 317 seats currently held by Conservatives. Whilst there had been calls for Farage to stand down candidates across the country, his party will continue to fight in seats held by the Lib [...]
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson to step down as an MP November 6, 2019 Labour Deputy Leader and West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson will not be standing for re-election in the 12 December election. Watson broke the news on his twitter feed just as Boris Johnson was launching his election campaign in Birmingham. The Shadow Culture Secretary has been embroiled in internal rows within the Labour party over [...]
Facebook has a job to win new cheerleaders November 5, 2019 For an outfit founded on the principle of bringing friends together, Facebook has cut a lonely figure in recent years. In America, founder Mark Zuckerberg has been hauled to DC to answer privacy concerns and one of the Democrats’ leading presidential candidates, Elizabeth Warren, has all but declared war on the firm. Politicians enjoy the [...]
The City will watch the election with interest November 1, 2019 The fate of the financial services industry is rarely a battleground in election campaigns but though the City won’t get much attention (beyond Labour’s ham-fisted criticism of it) the future of financial and professional services will certainly be determined by the next six weeks of campaigning. Labour have made clear to City leaders and business [...]
Budget must acknowledge regional growth and capital’s strength October 29, 2019 During the Tory leadership contest, a raft of regional papers launched a campaign calling on the various candidates to “power up the north”. The now-chancellor Sajid Javid promised to do just that. Now his former adviser Nick King, via the Centre for Policy Studies, has produced a plan for boosting regional growth not just across [...]
‘Bake Off’ winner and publican calls on Downing Street to cut beer tax October 24, 2019 Former Great British Bake Off Winner Candice Brown today delivered a petition signed by more than 200,000 Brits to 10 Downing Street calling for a cut in beer duty in the next Budget. Brown, who now runs The Green Man pub in Eversholt, Bedfordshire, was joined by publicans from across the country to deliver the [...]
