The Ofsted boss at the heart of a row about the Isle of Wight has resigned August 23, 2016 The chairman of education watchdog Ofsted has resigned after calling the Isle of Wight a “ghetto” and claiming the island was home to “inbreeding”. David Hoare has stepped down with immediate effect, writing in a statement that it had been “a great privilege” to chair the watchdog's board since 2014. Education secretary Justine Greening said: [...]
Lord Farage? At least one Ukip leadership contender wants Nigel in the House of Lords August 23, 2016 Ukip leadership candidate Lisa Duffy has called for Nigel Farage to be handed a peerage, granting the former leader a life-long seat in the House of Lords. Farage is currently serving in the European Parliament, and will do so until the UK leaves the EU. He lost out at the 2015 General Election to former Ukipper [...]
Here’s where Trump sits on the psychopath scale August 23, 2016 Is Donald Trump completely nuts? It's a question asked by a fair few people as the race to the White House heats up and the Trumpster's comments, on everything from immigration to his rival Hillary Clinton, elevate to ever more absurd levels for a Presidential candidate. Now academics at Oxford University have analysed Trump's tendencies toward the extreme, ranking him [...]
Labour hits out at government complacency leading to “pension crisis” August 23, 2016 Labour has slammed the government for failing to take action over pensions on the back of a survey finding that three in five people taking money out have no plans for care in old age. The survey from Citizens Advice found more than half of people who have taken money out under new pensions freedoms [...]
Almost one-in-three former Labour backers say Jeremy Corbyn was the chief reason behind their move away from the party August 23, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn has been the largest single factor behind drooping Labour support, according to a Yougov study of 200 former Labour backers. Of 1,000 Labour supporters previously interviewed by the pollster, Yougov returned to roughly 200 who said they would no longer back the party and get the main reasons behind their rejection of Labour. Respondents were [...]
Sadiq Khan’s plans to build affordable homes on TfL land have been thrown into doubt by questions over the sales process August 22, 2016 Sadiq Khan's hopes of forcing developers to build up affordable homes on former Transport for London property have been put in doubt by requirements on getting value for money on land deals. Khan was elected on a pledge of making sure that half of new homes would be affordable, and the sale of TfL land [...]
Merkel, Renzi and Hollande had this to say about Brexit August 22, 2016 The French President has today urged EU countries to reject nationalist tendencies as he met with the leaders of two of the bloc's major economies. Francois Hollande is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi, which is currently playing a critical role in Europe's migrant rescue efforts. According [...]
Downing Street is hinting that future devolution will not require the election of regional mayors August 22, 2016 Future city devolution deals may not require the election of a mayor, Downing Street has hinted, after fears were raised of Theresa May abandoning the previous government's desire to pass down power. A total of 10 city-regions have secured devolution deals so far in talks with the government, and each one has required the adoption [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour should focus on growth above inequality August 22, 2016 It used to go without saying that growth matters. But if former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers now feels the need to take to the pages of the FT to make the “progressive case for economic growth”, it shows just how far other issues, whether inequality or climate change, have come to dominate the thinking [...]
Even Switzerland doesn’t want Britain to adopt the Swiss model post-Brexit August 22, 2016 Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but it is doubtful whether anyone in Switzerland is thanking the City and the British Bankers’ Association for coming up with the idea that London should seek a Swiss-style relationship with Europe once Brexit is fully consummated. The reason Swiss banks and finance firms are so [...]