Anger as government admits it will miss carbon target by huge margin July 18, 2008 The Government admitted yesterday what experts have been saying for some time — that it will miss by a large margin its own target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010. New projections from the Department of the Environment (DEFRA) put CO2 emissions in 2010 at only 15.5 [...]
Council wage strike tests Brown’s steel July 17, 2008 Hundreds of thousands of local government workers went on strike yesterday in a dispute over pay that paralysed services from education to rubbish collection. The pay dispute is a test of the government’s nerve at a time when it is languishing far behind the Conservatives in the polls and trying to fight soaring inflation by [...]
PM accused of U-turn on knife crime July 15, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday people carrying knives would be “caught, prosecuted and punished” as he defended the government’s handling of knife crime following a spate of stabbing deaths. But his message was overshadowed over claims from opposition parties that the government had already backtracked from a “half-baked” policy to force those caught with [...]
Tories slam Brown’s latest car tax hike July 11, 2008 The Conservatives party yesterday slammed government plans to raise vehicle duty for polluting cars after it emerged the drivers of up to nine million vehicles could be left worse off. The news that so many hard pressed drivers of older and second hand cars will be hit has raised the spectre of another revolt by [...]
West warns Iran over nuclear tests July 10, 2008 Iran test-fired nine missiles yesterday and warned America and Israel it was ready to retaliate for any attack over its disputed nuclear projects. Washington, which says Iran seeks atomic bombs, told Tehran to halt further tests. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for electricity. Iran’s missile tests rattled oil markets, helping crude prices to [...]
G8 in climate dispute with poor states July 9, 2008 Big emerging economies will come under pressure today to respond to an initiative by rich countries to work towards a target of at least halving their global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations want the leaders of eight fast growing countries to adopt a “shared vision” of tackling global [...]
Brown: stop wasting food July 8, 2008 Britons can help bring food prices down by cutting the amount they waste every year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday. Brown was speaking as he was travelling to the G8 summit in Japan where the rich nations’ club is meeting to discuss rising fuel and food prices as well as global warming. A government [...]
Sugar for Mayor? July 4, 2008 If you thought the last London Mayoral elections were farcical, just wait for the next lot. Boris Johnson has only been in office for a matter of weeks, yet there is already speculation about who Labour might put up against the gaffe-prone oaf in May 2012. Two-term incumbent Ken Livingstone, who Johnson dethroned this year, [...]
Tsvangirai snubs unity talks July 3, 2008 Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday rejected talks on a unity government, saying President Robert Mugabe must first stop violence and accept him as the rightful election winner. African Union leaders called at a summit on Tuesday for the two sides to negotiate to end the crisis after Mugabe’s re-election in a 27 June ballot [...]
Secret shares, Visas, Directorships, Mistresses – why Blunkett had to go November 3, 2005 David Blunkett was due to appear before the Work and Pensions Committee yesterday morning Tony Blair claims that he did not call that meeting in order to sack his work and pensions minister. The formal statement from the Blair camp says: “David Blunkett chose to resign because he had reached the conclusion that the position [...]