Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announces first transport policy and statutory deputy mayor as Joanne McCartney May 10, 2016 Newly elected mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced his first major policy. The one hour bus "hopper" fare – which he pledged throughout his campaign – will start in September. Bus passengers who use Oyster cards or contactless payment will be able to take an extra bus within one hour and pay just one fare. Khan [...]
Facebook denies bias against this type of politics May 10, 2016 Ever felt like Facebook is a little bit lefty? Well, now it's defended itself against claims that it does favour one side of the political spectrum over the other by manipulating what appears on the site. Staff at the social network suppressed coverage of conservative politics in the US, according to a report, choosing not to include them in its [...]
EU referendum: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says jobs, workers’ rights and the environment depend on EU membership May 10, 2016 Remaining in the EU is crucial to defend investment, jobs and workers' rights, Labour's leader Jeremy Corbyn has said. Speaking at the launch of Labour's short campaign, Corbyn said that there is a crucial choice on the 23 June on whether to remain in the EU and reform it or to walk away from it. "I [...]
Opinion on fracking linked to political ideology, study says May 10, 2016 Whether or not the UK should get the frack on with it and start extracting shale gas is a politically contentious issue. So it's hardly surprising that an individual's stance on the controversial drilling technique is linked to their political persuasion. Politically conservative people are more likely to be in favour of fracking due to its economic [...]
New EU referendum poll finds growing business support for Brexit May 10, 2016 The EU referendum business vote has tightened, with growing support for a Brexit, a new survey suggests. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found 54.1 per cent of more than 2,200 members who completed the survey said they would vote to remain in the EU and 37 per cent said they were backing an exit. Support for [...]
Eurosceptic MPs slam government’s £9.3m EU referendum “propaganda” leaflet May 9, 2016 Eurosceptic MPs have slammed the government's decision to send leaflets to UK households to promote EU membership. A debate over the £9.3m leaflets was prompted after more than 200,000 signatures were added to an online petition called: “STOP CAMERON spending British taxpayers’ money on Pro-EU Referendum leaflets.” The debate lasted three hours and heard evidence [...]
Greek debt relief deal OK’ed after German backdown to IMF May 9, 2016 Greece’s battered economy received some good news yesterday after Eurozone finance ministers agreed to debt relief measures if new reforms come to fruition. The Mediterranean state will be granted longer grace periods and bond maturities from 2018 if it upholds the reforms agreed to in its most recent bailout package. The move is a concession [...]
George Osborne says Brexit would endanger “tens of thousands” of financial services jobs May 9, 2016 George Osborne has warned “tens of thousands” of financial services jobs would be put at risk if the UK votes for a Brexit. Treasury analysis claims 285,000 jobs in the sector are linked to European Union financial services exports. And the chancellor said this evening that leaving the single market “would be catastrophic for jobs and [...]
Live: Pensions lifeboat says that it had concerns about the BHS pension scheme in 2012 May 9, 2016 The BHS' pension scheme was on the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) radar as far back as in 2012, MPs were told today. Alan Rubenstein, chief executive of the PPF, also explained to a committee hearing that the scheme had a 23-year recovery plan at that point, which is significantly longer than would usually be allowed. Lesley Titcomb, [...]
Treasury Committee upset about being stood up by Vote Leave’s chief executive: “We’re all pretty grumpy” May 9, 2016 MPs on the Treasury Committee launched an attack on the chief executive of Vote Leave this afternoon. Andrew Tyrie accused Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, of “mucking around” the parliamentary committee. He revealed the committee was “forced to summon you under a parliamentary order”, saying this was the first time he had seen such [...]