Puzzled over Australia’s shock election result? Economics can help explain May 22, 2019 The surprise of the week was the re-election of the centre-right Coalition government in the Australian General Election. The Labor opposition had led every major opinion poll for the past two years. But Scott Morrison of the Coalition is still Prime Minister – and it is his Labor opponent who is resigning as leader. Economists, regardless [...]
How to cope with the confusion around social care costs May 22, 2019 Distracted by the ongoing Brexit crisis, the government appears to have shoved the not-so-small issue of social care to one side. With a growing elderly population (by 2046, a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 or over), and proportionately fewer taxpayers able to prop them up, the rising cost of social care [...]
Lloyds Bank unveils quarterly dividends payments amid pension pay row May 16, 2019 Lloyds Bank has announced plans to pay dividends quarterly from next year ahead of a potential shareholder revolt at today’s AGM. The bank said the move, beginning in the first quarter of 2020, would allow its 2.4 million shareholders to be paid more regularly and efficiently. Read more: Lloyds Banking Group: Q1 results analysis The [...]
Arriva joins Stagecoach in taking government to court over East Midlands franchise award May 12, 2019 The government is facing a double-whammy of legal action over its decision to award the East Midlands franchise to Abellio after Arriva Rail joined Stagecoach in taking it to court. Arriva Rail, which is owned by German rail giant Deutsche Bahn, said it was "seeking to obtain more information relating to how the bids for [...]
Pension superfunds need help to avoid early retirement May 10, 2019 Nobody said it would be easy. For the pension industry’s new generation of consolidation vehicles, getting out of the starting blocks is turning into a protracted affair. The two to have shown their hands so far – the Pension Superfund and Clara-Pensions – have impressive boards, promises of funding and bulging deal pipelines, yet months [...]
Government signs controversial East Midlands franchise contract with Abellio May 9, 2019 The government has gone ahead and signed a controversial contract for the East Midlands franchise with Abellio as the war with Stagecoach over the decision intensifies. The signing has gone ahead after the standstill period – the days following the award decision and its official signing expired at midnight last night. Yesterday Stagecoach's sour relations with [...]
Esther McVey reveals she will stand in the next Tory leadership contest May 9, 2019 Another Conservative MP has joined the race to become the next Prime Minister, with former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey announcing she will stand in the race to succeed Theresa May. McVey, who lost her Wirral West seat in 2015 before being elected as MP for Tatton two years later, revealed this morning that [...]
Chris Grayling could be forced to take the stand as Stagecoach launches legal action over franchise snubs May 8, 2019 Beleaguered transport secretary Chris Grayling could be called to the stand to defend the government after Stagecoach formally launched legal action over its decision to disqualify it from three rail franchises. After weeks of tension, Stagecoach formally launched legal action against the Department for Transport (DfT) over its decision to disqualify the firm from the [...]
Labour’s renationalisation plan isn’t just illiterate, it’s immoral May 8, 2019 Want to buy something, but can’t quite afford it? Just use a simple trick from John McDonnell. Here’s how it works. You say: “We’ll pay a fraction of the actual price.” They say: “Sorry, you can’t do that.” You say: “Yes, we can. We’re the government.” That, in essence, is Labour’s plan to renationalise the [...]
Chris Grayling ducks questions from MPs over controversial East Midlands franchise award May 7, 2019 Embattled transport secretary Chris Grayling did not show up today for questions from MPs about his controversial decision to bar Stagecoach from three rail franchises, sending a junior minister instead. Grayling had been asked by Labour's shadow rail minister Rachael Maskell to answer concerns that he misled parliament over the decision, which disqualified Stagecoach from [...]