Three owner Hutchison Whampoa to buy O2 for £1Obn January 22, 2015 Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is set to pick up more than £10bn by selling O2 to Three’s parent company, Hutchison Whampoa. Telefonica has been in talks to sell its British mobile business for months. The Hong Kong-based group, which is owned by Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, emerged as a frontrunner to take the company [...]
Ofcom puts BT under pressure to cut broadband cost to rivals January 15, 2015 Ofcom yesterday warned BT that it might be forced to raise broadband prices for customers or slash what it charges rivals to use its network, under tough new tests. The proposal is designed to ensure that BT cannot price rivals such as Sky and TalkTalk out of the market. Under current rules, BT allows rivals to [...]
Will David Cameron’s refusal to take part in TV debates damage his electoral prospects? January 14, 2015 Mike Smithson, editor of PoliticalBetting.com, says Yes As an incumbent Prime Minister facing an opposition leader with as poor personal ratings as Ed Miliband’s, it has been apparent for a long time that the best outcome for David Cameron would be for no debates to take place. This is the case all the more so [...]
Young adult Facebook users to decline over next three years January 14, 2015 Market research group eMarketer is predicting that there will be “almost” no new UK users aged 12 to 24 joining the social behemoth in the next three years. In addition, the number of users aged 18 to 24 will fall annually between 2016 and 2018, the group claims. Between 2015 and 2018 the [...]
Green Party support among young voters climbs to tie with the Tories January 13, 2015 The Greens have been given some welcome news today as latest polls shows they are level pegging with the Tories for the youth vote. The Green Party has enjoyed a rise in the polls in recent months often hovering just below or above the beleaguered Lib Dems. Pollster YouGov each month's daily polls over 2014 [...]
General election 2015 TV debates: David Cameron “running scared” says Ed Miliband January 11, 2015 David Cameron is “running scared” of live TV debates, according to Ed Miliband. Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, the Labour leader claimed the Prime Minister was acting in a “pretty disreputable” manner regarding the debates, after Cameron claimed he would not take part unless the Green Party was also represented. According to the Guardian, [...]
Cameron: I won’t join TV debates without Greens January 8, 2015 DAVID Cameron has drawn a firm line in the sand over the proposed TV election debates, vowing not to take part unless the Green party is invited too. The Prime Minister’s tough stance on the issue came after regulator Ofcom published provisional guidance suggesting that the Green party has not secured enough support in previous [...]
General Election 2015: Miliband, Farage and Clegg accuse Cameron of “running scared” from televised leader debates after refusing to appear without Green Party January 8, 2015 Rival political parties have accused David Cameron of “running scared” from the televised debates ahead of the General Election, after he said he wouldn't take part in them unless the Green Party were also included. The Prime Minister made the comments after draft guidelines were made by Ofcom about who should appear. The report said [...]
Ukip could qualify for “major party status” but Greens fail to make the cut, says Ofcom January 8, 2015 Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has published a consultation paper which could have a major impact on different political parties' media coverage at this year's general election. In good news for Nigel Farage's Ukip, Ofcom say they the party "may qualify for major party status in England and Wales for the General Election. If Ukip wins major [...]
Lord Myners’ report could finally ease pressure on Vince Cable over Royal Mail December 17, 2014 Vince Cable knew what he was letting himself in for when he asked Lord Myners to oversee a review of the British government’s privatisations. So the business secretary will, I suspect, be relieved that the independent-minded former City minister has concluded that taxpayers were less short-changed from Royal Mail’s initial public offering (IPO) [...]