Fears grow that Tata Steel may not be able to sell Port Talbot plant – and the government could support its continued ownership May 27, 2016 FEARS are growing that Tata has been unable to find a buyer for its UK operation, with one Westminster source telling Morning Wire that the Indian giant's retention of the business is now "a racing certainty". Tata has been seeking a buyer for the business since March, and was expected to publish a shortlist of [...]
Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaves the EU, says Osborne May 26, 2016 Pensioners could lose £32,000 if Britain leaving the EU shocks markets, a Treasury analysis has found. The Treasury suggests that Brexit will lead to an increase in inflation and financial market turmoil which will, in turn, lead to millions of current and future pensioners being worse off. The study, which is the latest in the string of Treasury [...]
BHS inquiries have “prompted more questions than answers” May 26, 2016 The two inquiries set up to investigate the BHS fiasco have unearth more questions than they have answers, the chair of one of the committees involved said today. Frank Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions committee, has written to Goldman Sachs’ Anthony Gutman, who appeared at an evidence session on Monday, and Arcadia Group for further [...]
MPs reject Ashley’s Sports Direct warehouse visit demand May 26, 2016 An influential committee of MPs has declined a request from Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley to visit one of his warehouses. Ashley asked the Business Innovation and Skills committee to attend his Shirebrook warehouse as a precondition for his attendence to a Parliamentary hearing on 7 June. However, the MPs have rejected the suggestion, while [...]
French strikes spark confrontations between police and protestors May 26, 2016 Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, smoke bombs were thrown and arrests made amid protests over new labour laws by the French government. Their grievances centre on the government's proposed reforms to employment laws, which make it easier for firms to hire and fire. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said some tweaks could be [...]
Top Tory tackles Treasury over “propaganda” Brexit forecasts May 26, 2016 Former shadow home secretary David Davis has condemned the EU referendum's remain campaign, arguing that the Government is publishing “pure propaganda”. In a forthright intervention, Davis slammed Treasury claims that a vote to leave the EU would generate a recession, and that it would leave households worse off in the long run. Davis has long [...]
Latest figures show a gulf in donations between the EU referendum’s Leave and Remain camps May 26, 2016 Donations for Leave campaigners have again exceeded those for their peers in the Remain campaign in the latest figures from the Electoral Commission. Earlier this month, the election watchdog reported that almost £16m in donations to both camps had been recorded for the period between 1 February and 21 April, with the Leave camp raising [...]
Sajid Javid says Tata pension chiefs asked for controversial changes May 26, 2016 The government was asked to consider controversial changes to Tata's pensions by the scheme's own trustees, the business secretary has said. Sajid Javid said that the British Steel Pension Scheme has asked for changes that "[they"] believe … will move the scheme into surplus and make it stable." "This is very much about this scheme, and [...]
Khan: Remain campaign must make patriotic case for EU May 26, 2016 With four weeks until polling day, Sadiq Khan has made his first intervention into the EU referendum debate since becoming mayor of London, calling for a patriotic case to Remain. In a speech in the east London Tech City development, Khan admitted that the debate on EU membership had become too dominated by potential risks. [...]
Migration figures become latest political football in EU referendum May 26, 2016 David Cameron and the Remain camp could probably have done without this morning's immigration statistics – figures that are almost certain to be put centre stage during the last four weeks of the referendum campaign. The numbers, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed net migration was running at 330,000 in 2015, as a record number of [...]