Jeremy Browne: George Osborne has given up making the case for a smaller state March 19, 2015 George Osborne has given up making the case for a smaller state and conceded ground to the Labour party, according to a former government minister. Speaking at a post-Budget briefing hosted by the Taxpayers' Alliance and the Institute of Economic Affairs, ex-home and foreign office minister Jeremy Browne said Osborne was failing to make the [...]
Liam Fox: Tories should freeze all spending except defence and health March 19, 2015 George Osborne should freeze all non-discretionary spending in the next parliament and "share the proceeds of growth" between tax cuts and deficit reduction. So said the former defence secretary and backbench Tory MP Liam Fox this morning. The former Conservative leadership contender flipped the phrase once used by David Cameron to argue that tax revenue [...]
Dominic Grieve: Brexit would turn 2m Brits into illegal immigrants March 19, 2015 The former attorney general has launched a scathing attack on those who want Britain out of the EU. Dominic Grieve warned that with the international situation so precarious there were significant dangers to leaving a supranational organisation such as the EU. He added that the free movement of people within was clearly non-negotiable. "The requirements [...]
Uber banned for the second time in Germany March 18, 2015 In what seems to be a never-ending back and forth Uber has officially been banned in Germany – again. A regional court in Frankfurt ruled that Uber's low-cost ride-sharing service UberPop is now banned throughout the country. The case was brought by taxi union Taxi Deutschland that been battling Uber for over a year. Dieter [...]
Budget 2015: Here’s why the Help to Buy Isa is a terrible idea March 18, 2015 One of the more eye-catching announcements in George Osborne's Budget was the unveiling of a "Help to Buy" Isa. Not leaked beforehand, Osborne said first-time buyers will receive a helping hand from the government to get on the property ladder. For every £200 saved by first-time buyers, the taxpayer will chip in another £50. Those who [...]
Budget 2015 summary: Analysts, economists and think tanks give their verdict on Osborne March 18, 2015 George Osborne delivered a Budget stacked with facts, figures and policies intended to ward off Labour's cost of living offensive and get the electorate on side before May the reactions are already flooding in. Here is a sampling of analysts' reactions to the final set-piece event of the coalition government. BNP Paribas' Dominic Bryant gives [...]
Brexit will damage the UK economy, say 54pc of small businesses March 18, 2015 The majority of Britain's small businesses think Brexit would damage the UK economy. The Zurich SME Risk Index showed on Wednesday that 54 per cent of small businesses believes British withdrawal from the EU would be bad for the country compared with 33 per cent who want to see Britain leave Europe. The polls continue [...]
Who is Nigel Farage’s political soulmate? Meet senator Rand Paul March 18, 2015 Nigel Farage's new book – The Purple Revolution – gives the definitive inside account as to how a party once on the fringes of British politics came to be a major player on the national stage, told by the man who arguably made it all happen. Among the revelations of how Ukip managed to snag [...]
Patience snaps: YouGov poll shows 60 per cent of Germans now back Grexit March 18, 2015 As Greece continues to languish in the economic danger zone, public opinion in the powerhouse of the European economy has shifted. A majority of the German public – 60 per cent – think a Greek exit from the eurozone would be preferable to the debt-ridden country remaining in the Eurozone. German public opinion has come [...]
Conservative Party attack ad slams Balls and Miliband’s time working in Gordon Brown’s Treasury March 18, 2015 Yesterday evening, on the eve of the Budget, the Tories launched a fresh attack ad lambasting Ed Miliband and Ed Balls for their time working as Treasury aides to Gordon Brown. The video features the two Eds beside Gordon Brown in 1997, shortly after Labour's historic landslide victory. The Tory ad argues the last Labour [...]
