Sajid Javid to tackle late payments owed to small businesses in new enterprise bill May 18, 2015 The new business secretary will today promise to cut red tape and put at least £10bn back in the pockets of business owners over the next five years. Speaking at a business centre in Bristol, Sajid Javid will announce a new enterprise bill to be included in the Queen’s speech next week. He will say: “As [...]
Healthcare needs radical reform – but Cameron must brace for the backlash May 18, 2015 The new government’s policy on public services was launched yesterday by the Prime Minister, with an uncompromising statement of NHS reform. He pledged more competition, including in the private sector. He promised wholesale changes in the delivery of services, so that GPs, hospitals and other services work together and prevent ill health in the first [...]
Why David Cameron’s legacy hangs on tackling four huge economic challenges May 18, 2015 I once asked one of Margaret Thatcher’s senior advisers whether her governments had been “too obsessed with economics”. “Economics,” he replied, “is not the most important thing in life, or in public policy. But it is something that governments can really mess up”. Recent events have made me reflect on that sentiment. When David Cameron [...]
Mike Ashley is unlikely to sell Newcastle even if they’re relegated – a sports business professor explains May 18, 2015 Relegation to the Championship could be a blessing in disguise for Newcastle United fans should their team lose and Hull City win this Sunday, former chairman Freddy Shepherd has said – because it could be what finally forces the deeply unpopular Mike Ashley to hand over the club to anyone who'll take it. Read more: Newcastle [...]
David Cameron to appoint Joanna Shields as web safety minister May 17, 2015 Joanna Shields, the former Facebook executive turned Conservative peer, is set to be appointed as minister for internet security in the new government. Baroness Shields is formally listed on the government’s website as a minister in the department for culture, media and sport. However, she has not yet been given a full portfolio by Conservative [...]
As Nicola Sturgeon demands more powers, is a second Scottish independence vote inevitable? May 17, 2015 Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says Yes. The genie is out of the bottle, the toothpaste out of the tube. Pick whichever metaphor you like, but be sure of one thing: it’s a case of “when”, not “if”. The SNP is simply biding its time, waiting for its chance. [...]
Whitehall could face 100,000 more job losses as chancellor George Osborne looks to balance the books May 17, 2015 Whitehall could lose up to 100,000 jobs during the next parliament, as part of government targets to wipe £10bn from the civil service's budget by 2020. The £10bn target represents a third of the total needed to be cut from government spending, if the Conservatives are to eliminate the budget deficit by the end of [...]
Cranes, planes, urns and eight ice-hocky goals: Six times Vladimir Putin has played the all-Russian action hero May 17, 2015 Vladimir Putin is the king (or perhaps tsar) of the publicity stunt. Not content with annexing such macho activities as hunting on horseback, fishing, and archaeology Putin took to the ice to score a devastating eight goals in an ice hockey match involving ex-NHL legends. Putin was, of course, on the winning side in the [...]
ECB Executive Board Member Yves Mersch says QE stimulus won’t end early May 16, 2015 European Central Bank executive board member Yves Mersch has said it won't be ending its government bond buying programme prematurely, echoing comments made by boss Mario Draghi earlier this week. Mersch further dampened speculation the central bank's €1.1 trillion stimulus package would end early, saying this would cast doubts on its growth forecasts for the euro [...]
Chancellor George Osborne to deliver new budget on 8 July May 16, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has said he will deliver a new budget "for working people" on 8 July following the Conservative's shock electoral win last week. "On the 8th of July I am going to take the unusual step of having a second budget of the year – because I don’t want to wait to turn the promises [...]