David Cameron: Britain will take up to 20,000 Syrian refugees in the next five years September 7, 2015 Britain will admit up to 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the course of the next five years, David Cameron said today. The government will accept asylum seekers from refugee camps in and around Syria, granting resettled people five-year humanitarian protection visas. "Vulnerable children", especially orphans, would be the government's priority, Cameron said The [...]
Institute of Directors: Let’s make it easier to invest in startups by simplifying tax relief September 7, 2015 A leading business group has called on the government to simplify existing tax relief schemes in order to boost entrepreneurship. In a new report out this week, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has argued that the full potential of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is “not fully being realised”. [...]
Citizens Advice: Cars and mobile phones cause most problems for consumers September 2, 2015 If you're fed up with your mobile phone provider, you're not alone, according to a new report from the Citizens Advice charity, which found that more than 21,000 people filed formal complaints about their mobile phone contracts last year – with one in four griping about substandard service or a particularly poor signal. The only issue more pressing [...]
Church of England to lead a “Christian debate” on the EU referendum September 2, 2015 The Church of England has waded into one of Britain's most contentious political issues: the European Union. In a move that surprised believers and non-believers alike, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said yesterday that the church will lead a "Christian debate" on the future of Britain's relationship with the EU. Warning that an in/out referendum could [...]
Hillary Clinton’s email dump sheds light on David Miliband’s heartfelt response to losing the Labour leader vote to his brother Ed September 1, 2015 David Miliband has famously kept tight-lipped when it comes to the leadership rivalry between him and his younger brother Ed – but an email between the former foreign secretary and Hillary Clinton has shed light on his real feelings at the time. A newly-released batch of emails from the US presidential hopeful's private server include [...]
Labour leadership candidates Liz Kendall and Yvette Cooper attack Jeremy Corbyn’s women-only train proposal August 27, 2015 Politicians from across the political spectrum have hit out at Jeremy Corbyn's proposals for women-only train carriages. The Labour leadership hopeful first floated the idea last night as a way of combating harassment on public transport, saying: "It is unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the [...]
Government’s starter homes programme won’t help London’s first-time buyers August 27, 2015 Londoners hoping to buy their first home will not get much help from the government, according to a new report out today. In the report, Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, takes issue with the government’s affordable house building policies, saying its flagship “starter homes” programme will fail to help most first-time buyers. Prime Minister [...]
Institute for Public Policy Research: Re-draw the UK’s constituency map to get rid of safe seats and boost voter turnout August 26, 2015 Safe parliamentary seats should be scrapped to boost voter turnout, according to a new report out today. In the report, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank argues that the Boundary Commission’s responsibilities should be expanded to “consider the electoral competitiveness of a seat when reviewing constituency boundaries”. The Boundary Commission, which is responsible [...]
Black Monday 2015: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells baristas to be sensitive to customers worried about the stock market August 25, 2015 Could a cup of joe cure your stock market woes? Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz seems to think so. In a message to the coffee chain’s 190,000 employees yesterday, Schultz asked baristas to be sensitive to customers who might be worried about their portfolios. “Today’s financial market volatility, combined with great political uncertainty both at home and abroad, [...]
Andrew Tyrie asks Mark Carney to clarify Bank of England monetary policy committee conflict of interest rules August 25, 2015 The chairman of an influential parliamentary committee has asked Bank of England governor Mark Carney to reconsider rules surrounding membership of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC). Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, wrote to Carney today about the appointment of Gertjan Vlieghe, a senior economist at the hedge fund Brevan Howard, to [...]
