Virgin Media website down: Customers complain as provider denies broadband outage November 19, 2019 Virgin Media broadband customers complained after being left without internet today, but the company denied it has suffered a major outage. Virgin Media’s status checker, which allows users to check the level of service in their local area, was inaccessible, with the company saying it was undertaking “essential work on our systems”. Read more: 21 [...]
John McDonnell: ‘No one needs to be a billionaire’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is set to take aim at billionaires today, describing their wealth as “obscene” as Labour releases research showing almost a third of Britain’s billionaires have donated money to the Tories. McDonnell is expected to say he wants to “rewrite the rules of our economy” in a speech in central London later [...]
Telecoms firm’s credit ratings ‘at risk’ from Labour’s broadband plan November 18, 2019 Telecoms companies may take a hit to their credit profiles if Labour’s plans to nationalise parts of BT go ahead, a top rating agency has warned. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell last week unveiled plans to bring Openreach into public ownership and offer free full-fibre broadband to all UK households by 2030. Read more: Labour’s BT [...]
Jeremy Corbyn ‘investment blitz’ pitch to businesses draws frosty response November 18, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn has said an “investment blitz” would create “immense” opportunities for businesses under a Labour government in a pitch to corporate Britain. Speaking at the CBI’s annual conference in London, Corbyn sought to appeal to firms by saying Labour’s Brexit policy would provide “the certainty of a customs union and access to the single [...]
Labour’s nationalisation plans: The threat and opportunity November 18, 2019 The Labour Party is expected to release its manifesto this week, with leader Jeremy Corbyn promising to publish “the most transformative, radical and exciting programme ever put before the British electorate”. The party is set to recommit to some of its major pledges made in 2017, including plans to bring energy, water, rail and mail [...]
Boris Johnson to woo businesses with extensive tax breaks November 18, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today offer British companies a series of tax cuts and breaks as he seeks to mend his relationship with the country’s firms. Read more: Boris Johnson’s Conservative party opens up 17-point poll lead In a speech to the annual CBI conference in London Johnson will pledge to cut the taxes [...]
How the pound could react to a Tory General Election victory November 18, 2019 Buffeted by Brexit and a global economic slowdown, the pound has had a wild ride in 2019. Now, City economists believe sterling is at a crossroads, with the upcoming General Election poised to send sterling soaring – or diving. A Conservative majority could fire the pound above $1.40, analysts said, but a Labour victory may [...]
The City is wise to wince at McDonnell’s statism November 18, 2019 This newspaper has, in the past, given credit to John McDonnell for his honesty and for his openness with the City. We may not have welcomed his ideas, but we’ve often acknowledged that he has at least been upfront about his plans for government and has ventured into City boardrooms to explain his thinking more [...]
Sajid Javid: My pitch to the businesses of Britain November 18, 2019 Britain’s 6m businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They have driven employment to record highs, with wages outstripping inflation. And they have made our country a hotbed of furious innovation in products and services. We would all like to see higher economic growth — after a decade of recovery from the last Labour government [...]
DEBATE: Is there a case for Labour’s ‘free broadband’ proposals? November 18, 2019 Is there a case for Labour’s ‘free broadband’ proposals? Miranda Hall, a researcher at the New Economics Foundation and co-author of forthcoming report on digital infrastructure for Common Wealth, says YES. Without internet you can’t look for a job, receive childcare and housing benefits, or keep in touch with friends. But across the UK, digital [...]