Andrew Tyrie warns Lord Strathclyde over House of Lords vote on tax credit cuts December 16, 2015 An influential group of MPs has issued a stark warning to peers not to interfere in tax and spend policies. In a letter to Lord Strathclyde on behalf of the Treasury committee, committee chair Andrew Tyrie said that the “exclusive authority of the House of Commons in matters of taxation and expenditure” must be protected. “Only [...]
Conservative MPs live longer (unless you’re leader) but all politicians live longer than the rest of us December 16, 2015 How tough is the rough and tumble of political life? Not that bad, really. It turns out the long hours, highly demanding work load and high-vis jacket wearing doesn't take as much of a toll as you might think. MPs are likely to live longer than the rest of us, eking out an extra four years on [...]
Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and others: Who said what in the Republican debate? December 16, 2015 Nine candidates took part in the Republican debate yesterday in Las Vegas, including frontrunner Donald Trump and his rival Jeb bush, and senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. Terrorism and national security were big topics dominating the discussion, while a series of jabs were made at Trump by the other participants. Here's who said what [...]
Bank of England warns EU bonus cap has increased risk of instability in the financial sector December 16, 2015 The EU bonus cap has increased the risk of instability in the financial sector, Bank of England researchers said yesterday. Chancellor George Osborne is being urged to press the EU on removing rules capping bankers’ bonuses after the Bank called the policy “counterproductive”. The Bank said that the cap, which restricts bonuses to 100 per cent of [...]
EU referendum: New Open Europe poll shows David Cameron’s renegotiation efforts will have “huge impact” on Brexit vote December 16, 2015 A new poll out today shows that Prime Minister David Cameron’s renegotiation efforts with the European Union could have a “huge impact” on the EU referendum, putting fresh pressure on Cameron just one day before he heads to Brussels to make his case to EU leaders. The ComRes poll, conducted for the think tank Open Europe, [...]
EU referendum odds: Chances of Britain leaving Europe have never been higher as bookie’s Brexit odds slashed December 15, 2015 The chances of Britain leaving the EU have never been higher as bookies slashed the odds on a Brexit. Ladbrokes odds on Britain making an exit after a referendum, expected to take place next year, were cut from 7/2 from 11/8 within the past three months. The chances of Britain leaving Europe now stand at an [...]
UK businesses’ tax burden rises despite chancellor George Osborne’s Osborne’s cuts to corporation tax December 15, 2015 Britain's biggest businesses paid £80.5bn in taxes this year, up from £80bn in 2014, with a string of new measures expected to batter firms still in the pipeline. Figures from accountancy giant PwC – based on a survey of FTSE 100 finance directors, large private companies and multinationals – show that the total tax rate, a [...]
New EU data protection rules could ban teenagers from social media services like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat December 14, 2015 EU lawmakers are about to introduce new data protection laws that would require parents to approve their children’s use of social media and chat apps. With hours to go before the final discussions of the new law begin tomorrow, a last-minute change has taken centre-stage, with critics arguing teenagers are being “banned from the internet”. [...]
EU referendum: former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski says benefit tourism is propaganda while mayor of London Boris Johnson pushes for UK opt-out from EU open borders December 14, 2015 Former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski hit out at the British government’s proposals to curb welfare benefits for European migrants today, telling an audience in London that so-called benefits tourism is “propaganda”. “This issue of benefits tourism has been set up in the public domain,” he said. “The figures don’t confirm it. “We had 300,000 [...]
Labour and Lib Dem peers could force a vote to defeat government on “reverse burden of proof” in Senior Managers Regime December 14, 2015 Labour and Lib Dem peers could force a vote tomorrow to reject the government’s plans to abandon the so-called reverse burden of proof in new financial regulation. The Treasury had originally proposed a “guilty until proven innocent” burden on executives scrutinised under the new Senior Managers & Certification regime, which is set to go into effect [...]