Oh, BoJo: Emails reveal Mayor of London Boris Johnson to be a diplomatic nightmare on Iraq visit January 15, 2016 Mayor of London Boris Johnson's trip to Iraq last year left the Foreign Office staff picking up a hotel bar tab, officials blocking his request for a visit to the front-line and Johnson driving a sports car out of a showroom, correspondence has revealed. The correspondence, released under freedom of information laws, show the difficulties officials [...]
Scottish National Party looks unstoppable as Holyrood elections loom, with poll predicting more than 30 per cent lead January 15, 2016 If it can keep the momentum going, the Scottish National Party is set to dominate at the Scottish parliamentary elections this summer, according to a new poll. The Survation poll indicates 52 per cent of Scots would vote for the SNP, while Labour languishes behind with just 21 per cent of support. Read more: Scottish National Party's lead [...]
Northern Powerhouse: Policy Exchange says devolved cities need geeks overseeing data analytics offices January 15, 2016 An influential think tank wants to require cities with devolved powers to recruit “geeks” to oversee data analytics programmes, as another leading research group says successful devolution will require more than just new infrastructure projects. In a new paper out today, Policy Exchange said that elected mayors should have to set up data analytics offices [...]
EU referendum: Osborne slammed for lack of contingency plans for Brexit January 14, 2016 The government has come under fire for not making contingency plans for a possible Brexit. The criticism came after chancellor George Osborne told BBC 2 Newsnight that the Treasury is not planning for Brexit. Instead of a plan, he said his department is "100 per cent now focused on achieving the renegotiation… That is where the [...]
US President Barack Obama commits $4bn over 10 years to driverless technology January 14, 2016 US President Barack Obama is committing $4bn (£2.8bn) over 10 years to investment in driverless car technology. The goal of the investment is to "accelerate the development and adoption of safe vehicle automation through real-world pilot projects". Transport Sectretary Anthony Foxx announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday that the US Department of Transportation will remove some of [...]
EU referendum: UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti says London has “lost a lot of its attractiveness” but Europe would lose out in Brexit January 14, 2016 New regulations have made the City a less desirable place to do business, UBS group chief executive Sergio Ermotti has said. "London has lost a lot of attractiveness for sure," Ermotti told an audience in Canary Wharf tonight, pointing to the controversial Senior Managers Regime (SMR), which is set to to go into effect in March. “If you add the [...]
Why Labour lost: Internal party documents leaked to the BBC show that voters didn’t trust Labour on the economy and thought Ed Miliband was weaker than David Cameron January 14, 2016 Labour failed to win last year's General Election because voters didn't trust the party with the economy and thought Ed Miliband was a weaker leader than Prime Minister David Cameron, according to internal Labour party documents revealed this afternoon by the BBC. Then-interim Labour leader Harriet Harman commissioned a post-mortem last May, saying the party needed a "forensic, [...]
Oh Jez: Campaign starts to get Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn his dream bike for his birthday January 14, 2016 A crowdfunding project has been set up to give Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn something special for his 67th birthday – his dream bike. In order to secure the funds to buy the bike in time for the big day (26 May if you want to add it to your calendar), fans are being urged to [...]
Labour MP John Mann wants to charge £1000 membership fee to Labour party members who own houses worth more than £1m January 14, 2016 A leading Labour MP is proposing a so-called wealth tax to "save the Labour Party" from financial ruin. John Mann, the MP for Bassetlaw, said in a blog post on his website today that Labour should charge party members with properties valued at over £1m a "Labour wealth tax of £1,000 a year". "It will raise significant money and [...]
EU referendum: BT chairman Mike Rake and Barclays chairman John McFarlane issue warnings over Brexit January 14, 2016 Two of Britain's top businessmen have warned that the City will be worse off if the UK leaves the EU. Mike Rake, chairman of BT Group and WorldPay, and Barclays chairman John McFarlane – who also chairs TheCityUK industry group – told Bloomberg TV today that Brexit would be bad for British business. "There has already [...]