Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt backpedals on ‘Soviet prison’ comments about EU October 2, 2018 Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has backtracked on comments he made about the European Union in which he compared the group to the Soviet Union. Hunt provoked condemnation and mockery on Sunday, after he said the EU risked becoming like a Soviet “prison” because of its negotiation stance on Britain’s exit from the EU. Read [...]
Debate: Given the Tory party’s proposal to ban restaurants from taking a share of staff tips, is regulation necessary? October 2, 2018 Debate: Given the Tory party’s proposal to ban restaurants from taking a share of staff tips, is regulation necessary? YES – Scott Corfe is chief economist at the Social Market Foundation. The rise of the service charge in UK restaurants has led to a great deal of confusion. Often listed as discretionary on bills, many [...]
Theresa May’s vision-free approach is alienating us all October 2, 2018 An opening day Conservative conference speech by former CBI Director-General Digby Jones might not have been expected to diagnose the Prime Minister’s key weakness. But defending Theresa May’s Brexit approach, the former Labour minister unwittingly exposed the reason that the Prime Minister has alienated much of her party: she is a vision-free zone. Riffing off [...]
Theresa May: We’ll prioritise skilled immigration after Brexit October 2, 2018 Theresa May plans to prioritise immigrants’ skills, rather than their country of origin, in a post-Brexit shake-up of the visa system. The Prime Minister will focus on tackling low-skilled immigration and place more value on those with skills desirable to British businesses, following a recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee (Mac). Read more: 'Frictionless' immigration [...]
Former House of Fraser directors dismissed amid calls for an investigation October 1, 2018 The former directors and senior management of House of Fraser have been dismissed following the department store's collapse. Sports Direct, which bought the beleaguered high street chain for £90m in August, announced that it has sacked the former top team amid calls for an investigation into the company's spiral into administration. Read more: Mike Ashley blames landlords [...]
Addison Lee says Sadiq Khan’s congestion charge plans could cost it £4m a year October 1, 2018 Addison Lee has said Sadiq Khan's plans to remove the congestion charge exemption for private hire taxi companies could cost it £4m a year. Uber rival Addison Lee has commissioned research that suggests levying a congestion charge on minicabs in London would make the capital more congested and polluted. Read more: London Assembly votes against Sadiq [...]
Philip Hammond says Tories are the ‘party of business’ as he takes the fight to Jeremy Corbyn October 1, 2018 Philip Hammond tried to paint the Conservatives as the "party of business" today as he launched a sustained attack on the Labour Party's plans for the economy. Speaking at the Tory conference in Birmingham, the chancellor urged his party to put on a united front to defeat Jeremy Corbyn – arguing Labour's plans would threaten [...]
Tesla shares bounce back after Elon Musk agrees to step down as chairman October 1, 2018 Tesla shares have jumped over 16 per cent following a backlash last week over the company's $40m (£31m) fine from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk has been pursued by the SEC over a tweet he sent in August saying he has secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The SEC said [...]
Oil prices hit four-year high as markets await US sanctions on Iran October 1, 2018 Oil prices hit a four-year high this morning as the market reacted to ongoing uncertainty over US sanctions on Iran. Brent crude – considered the international benchmark – rose almost half a per cent to $83.09 (£63.70) per barrel in early trading, after rising as high as $83.32. Read more: Iranian foreign minister claims country [...]
Brexit secretary says Chequers plan is not ‘perfect’ as he urges Tories to back the proposal October 1, 2018 Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab today admitted the Prime Minister's EU negotiating plan is not perfect as he appealed to his fellow Tories to back the so-called Cheques proposal. Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Raab claimed eurosceptics would have "bitten my arm off" before the 2016 referendum for the deal he and other [...]