Labour’s Sadiq Khan can’t be trusted to deliver for Londoners – but Zac is a man I can do business with May 4, 2016 When I first became chancellor six years ago, I inherited a British economy and a London economy that were on their knees. It’s why on day one we immediately put a plan in place to rescue the public finances while laying the foundations for recovery. London led that recovery, bouncing back first and fastest. With [...]
The government’s restaurant tipping crackdown is a far worse idea than you think May 4, 2016 Not content with setting the wages in future of up to 20 per cent of the private sector workforce through its National Living Wage, the government has now decided to clamp down on tipping practices in restaurants – opening up a new front in pay regulation. The business secretary Sajid Javid wants steps taken to [...]
The EEF has clashed with the government over the flagship apprenticeship levy scheme May 4, 2016 Manufacturers have called on the government to delay the introduction of the apprenticeship levy as just one per cent of employers said they backed the policy in its current form. Manufacturers’ body, the EEF, has today ramped up its warnings over the levy, saying that the government faces a “looming car crash” after it found [...]
Transport Select Committee urges government to provide clear timetable for south east airport expansion plan May 4, 2016 The government's failure to set out a clear timetable for airport expansion has been blasted as a “squandered opportunity” by top MPs. In a report released today by the Transport Select Committee, which backs the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, ministers are urged to make a decision as soon as possible to end decades of “political dithering”. [...]
Why George Osborne thinks Zac Goldsmith, not Sadiq Khan, can deliver the best deal for London May 4, 2016 George Osborne has urged Londoners to vote for fellow Conservative Zac Goldsmith in the London mayoral election on Thursday to help the government deliver “the best possible deal for London”. Writing in Morning Wire, the chancellor said he wants a mayor “who wants to work with me to get things done” and questioned what sort of [...]
Hedge fund boss Paul Marshall to make Brexit donation May 3, 2016 Hedge fund boss Paul Marshall is set to make a large donation to the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union. Marshall, a co-founder of one of the City’s most successful hedge funds Marshall Wace, will donate in excess of £100,000 to Vote Leave. Marshall only decided to hand over the cash in [...]
Starter for 10: Think tank report urges Stephen Crabb to take on a Universal Challenge May 3, 2016 Stephen Crabb may just be settling into his new role as secretary of state for work and pensions, but a report published today is urging him to take on George Osborne and crew over universal credit. The study by think tank the Resolution Foundation warns that universal credit risks not meeting the goals it was proposed for if [...]
Why are the kids out on strike and how is everybody reacting? May 3, 2016 Thousands of school students were planning not to show up to class today in protest at the new Standard Assessment Tests (Sats) in a move dubbed the "kids strike". The protest is officially against the Year Two Sats, taken by six and seven year olds, though infant and primary school children up to the age of [...]
Now Zac Goldsmith’s campaign claims it’s as quick to commute to Venice than it is to reach Bromley on the train May 3, 2016 It may be the final few days of London's mayoral election, but things are continuing to heat up – after Zac Goldsmith's campaign made some pretty strong claims about the capital's commute times. The Conservative candidate's campaign has crunched the number and discovered it takes as long for some of the capital's commuters to reach [...]
Zac Goldsmith seems to have found his mojo: But is it too late to defeat Sadiq Khan? May 3, 2016 City Social, on the 24th floor of Tower 42, is used to hosting London’s power brokers, and it would take an interesting guest to tempt the diners to look up from their menus or their phones. Nobody reaches for their cameras when I take a window seat with Zac Goldsmith, but they definitely notice him. [...]