Nigel Farage: Those who can afford it should opt for private healthcare to relieve burden on the NHS March 17, 2015 Those who can afford to buy private healthcare should do so because they would help to relieve the burden on the NHS, according to Ukip leader Nigel Farage. Appearing on Tuesday's edition of the Daily Politics, Farage answered a host of questions on Ukip's policy platform, including healthcare. Farage emphasised that Ukip supported a National [...]
Lord Ashcroft marginals poll delivers bad news for Cameron’s General Election chances March 17, 2015 After two weeks of matching or overtaking Labour in the national polls, the Tories are hoping they will soon reach their much hoped for "crossover" moment, when they can consistently out poll Labour and build some momentum toward victory. But Tory peer Lord Ashcroft's latest round of polling from the marginal constituencies may dampen Tory [...]
Oxfam anti-tax dodging protesters shower Westminster with fake money in run-up to 2015 budget March 17, 2015 Protesters from Oxfam donned their George Osborne and Danny Alexander costumes and took to Westminster this morning, in a protest against tax dodging. Dressed as the chancellor and chief secretary to the Treasury, the protesters posed with mock ministerial red boxes inside a glass dome, with fake bank notes flying all over the place. According [...]
Budget 2015: Who’s winning the social media battle March 17, 2015 Tomorrow George Osborne will deliver the final Budget of this Parliament, but the PR war over the coalition government's last set-piece event is already under way. As with almost all Budgets, large chunks have already been trailed and leaked leaving observers wondering whether Osborne will stick to his promise of no more gimmicks or pull [...]
Jean-Claude Juncker rules out major EU reform to prevent Brexit March 17, 2015 EU Commission President Jean-Claude Junker hopes to keep what he calls "down to earth Britain" in the EU but has dashed any hopes of major treaty change. Juncker ruled out a major reform of the European treaties to satisfy British demands for reform. Speaking at a conference he insisted he was "in favour of a [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Miliband stops short of ruling out post-electoral deal with SNP March 16, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband has declined to rule out doing a deal with the Scottish National party (SNP) to secure the keys to Downing Street. However, he said there would be no formal coalition between the two parties. Speaking yesterday, Miliband said: “Labour will not go into coalition government with the SNP. There will be [...]
Where has Vladimir Putin been? The theories surrounding the Russian President’s disappearance March 16, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin finally made a public appearance this morning, after an 11-day absence. Putin turned up to a scheduled meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in St Petersburg – and even took him "for a little drive", according to Atambayev. But the rumour-mill was working in overdrive during Putin's disappearance/ Here are the [...]
Open Europe reveals 100 EU regulations that cost Britain £33bn March 16, 2015 The EU's 100 most draconian regulations are costing Britain over £33bn a year, according new analysis from the think-tank Open Europe. Adding insult to injury, the report reveals the accompanying impact assessment found the costs of a quarter of these regulations outweighed the estimated benefits, but were signed off by the British government all the [...]
The US and Russia still dominate arms exports, but China’s catching up March 16, 2015 The US is still the world's biggest exporter of arms, according to research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Our western neighbour currently was responsible for 31 per cent of all exports across the world between 2010 and 2014, followed closely by Russia with 27 per cent. All other nations fell a [...]
Iran nuclear programme: Saudi Prince warns that if Iran strikes a deal, his country will want the same March 16, 2015 Prince Trurki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia says that if the West strikes a nuclear deal with Iran, it is likely that many other countries will demand the same allowances. During an interview with the BBC, he warned that Saudi Arabia was among the nations that would seek the same rights, and that a situation where [...]