Business group urges David Cameron to call European Union referendum earlier October 6, 2015 The referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union is at risk of becoming a “chance to whack the political elite” and should be held sooner rather than later, one Britain's biggest business groups will say today. Institute of Directors (IoD) director general Simon Walker will use the IoD’s annual convention at Royal Albert Hall [...]
Conservative party conference 2015: Theresa May to announce plans for anti-immigration crackdown October 6, 2015 Home secretary Theresa May will harden her anti-immigrant rhetoric today, saying that mass immigration has harmed society. Speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester this morning, May is expected to say that there is "no case in the national interest for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last decade". "When immigration is too high, when [...]
Institute of Directors: Politicians are looking at the UK’s productivity problems in the wrong way October 6, 2015 The government is looking at the so-called “productivity puzzle” in the wrong way, the Institute of Directors (IoD) argues in a new report out today. The business group says that ministers should have a bigger focus on promoting business “agility”, allowing firms to respond quickly and efficiently to various demands. IoD chief economist James Sproule, [...]
UK businesses slam Tory tax hikes ahead of Conservative party conference 2015 October 6, 2015 Britain's biggest business groups are putting pressure on the government to row back on its latest tax proposals ahead of the Conservative party conference in Manchester this weekend. In formal submissions sent to the government today, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), EEF, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Institute of Directors (IoD) have all [...]
UK firms sceptical of new government consultation on tax rules for non-doms October 6, 2015 Accounting and legal experts have said that they are sceptical of a new government consultation out this week on changes to tax rules for non-domiciles, or “non-doms”. In the Summer Budget, chancellor George Osborne said he would be tightening tax rules for high-earning residents whose also reside outside the UK, including getting rid of [...]
Tory MP Richard Fuller backs Uber London calling for parliament to scrutinise TfL’s proposals for new laws October 6, 2015 A member of a powerful commons committee is calling on colleagues in parliament to scrutinise Transport for London (TfL) over its drastic new proposals to impose draconian regulations on Uber and other private hire car services. Richard Fuller, a Conservative MP who sits on the business select committee, told City A.M. the proposals were “precisely [...]
Standard & Poor’s warns slow growth in China may have strong knock-on effect on Europe October 6, 2015 Economists at credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s have warned that slowing growth in China would have strong knock-on effects for the Eurozone and some of Europe’s largest economies. S&P ran a simulation to assess the effects of China’s real growth slowing to 4.4. per cent next year and 3.9 per cent in 2017, instead of [...]
Pension confusion is leaving British workers unprepared for retirement – PwC October 6, 2015 Bewildered by your pension? You’re not alone. British workers are so confused about the current pensions system that they are not saving as much as they should in order to be ready for retirement, according to a report out today from PwC. The advisory firm surveyed nearly 1,200 working adults following chancellor of the exchequer [...]
Asian and African high earners save six times more than their UK counterparts – Standard Chartered October 6, 2015 High earners in emerging markets are saving over six times more than their British or American counterparts, according to a new study out this week from Standard Chartered. The study found that the so-called emerging affluent in Asia and Africa plan to save as much as 30 per cent of their income in the [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour conference speech used passages rejected by Ed Miliband and Neil Kinnock October 6, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn’s first major speech as Labour leader included old passages first written in the 1980s and offered to every party leader from Neil Kinnock to Ed Miliband. Corbyn, a veteran MP who has called for a “new politics”, told conference delegates in an hour-long speech in Brighton yesterday that people with “property and [...]
