London mayor election: Who has declared in the race to succeed Boris Johnson? June 17, 2015 The London mayor election will take place next year and, with incumbent Boris Johnson standing down to focus on his role in Parliament, the field is filling with candidates who have already declared their intentions to run. Five Conservative candidates are looking to succeed Johnson, while six Labour candidates, two Greens, one Independent and a [...]
Labour leadership campaign: Tories support Corbyn in bid to damage party June 17, 2015 Conservatives have launched a campaign to elect Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party in order to damage the party's electoral prospects. After Labour's poor results in the General Election, they believe that another left-leaning leader would lock the party out of government for another term. Changes in the Labour party rules now allow [...]
David Cameron gets a bloody nose as rebel Tory backbenchers flex their muscles over EU referendum bill June 16, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron avoided an embarrassing parliamentary defeat last night, but only after Labour decided to abstain from a key vote. More than two dozen Conservative backbenchers rebelled over rules surrounding an EU referendum that Cameron has promised will take place before the end of 2017. A cross-party combination including 27 Tory rebels and [...]
Mayoral candidate Ivan Massow plans to raise £400m from a London tourist tax June 16, 2015 London could rein in almost half a billion pounds in public revenue with a tourist tax, a Conservative mayoral candidate has told Morning Wire. Ivan Massow, who is in the running to take over from Boris Johnson as mayor of London, believes there should be a charge a rate of £1 per star per [...]
Ivan Massow’s mayoral bid evokes Thatcher spirit: Entrepreneur explains why he’s the Tories’ best bet to replace Boris June 16, 2015 Ivan Massow is used to facing challenges. A successful entrepreneur from a dis-advantaged background involving various foster homes, he rose to prominence in politics in the 1990s when he became one of the first openly gay, high-profile Conservative Party members. “It caused me a lot of embarrassment at the time, because of course if [...]
David Cameron to tap new business advisers: Will Harriet Green and Tidjane Thiam remain in Business Advisory Group? June 16, 2015 Prime Minster David Cameron is expected to bring on a new slate of business advisers in the coming months. Downing Street is preparing for a shake-up of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group (BAG), with at least a handful of BAG members from the last government not expected be asked back, Sky News first reported yesterday. [...]
EU referendum bill: 27 Tories rebel as David Cameron beats “purdah” amendment June 16, 2015 David Cameron has won his first significant battle with the Eurosceptic arm of his party – and he has Labour to thank after a "purdah" amendment to the EU referendum bill was defeated in the Commons Although 27 Tories rebelled against their Prime Minister, Labour abstained from the vote meaning Bill Cash's rebel amendment was [...]
Ministry of Justice is the sickest government department – and stress is the number one cause of time off among government employees June 16, 2015 Employees at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) take more sick days than staff at any other government department, according to freedom of information responses received by Morning Wire And among the departments that gave reasons for absence, mental health issues and stress were listed as the main causes. At the MoJ, the total number [...]
Labour leader debate buzzword bingo: “Ukip”, “immigratation” and “SNP” due to dominate debate June 16, 2015 The SNP, Ukip and immigration are likely to dominate the first Labour leadership debate, according to the betting company Ladbrokes. Read more: Sadiq Khan: "Aspiration" will be overused in Labour leadership race In the race to become the next Labour leader, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Jeremy Corbyn will go head to head in [...]
Labour leadership race: “Ukip”, “immigratation” and “SNP” due to dominate debate June 16, 2015 The SNP, Ukip and immigration are likely to dominate the first Labour leadership debate, according to the betting company Ladbrokes. In the race to become the next Labour leader, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall and Jeremy Corbyn will go head to head in a debate hosted by the BBC on Wednesday. Ladbrokes is taking [...]